


That Kid You Knew

by AvengersCompound (emilyevanston)



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Drug Use, Drugs, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Iron Man Bingo 2019, Mutual Pining, One Night Stands, Oral Sex, Parent Tony Stark, Parenthood, Secret Children, Smut, Unplanned Pregnancy, Vaginal Sex, iron man bingo 3000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-06-29 12:43:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19830481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilyevanston/pseuds/AvengersCompound
Summary: You had grown up knowing Tony Stark but as you’d gotten older you’d lost track of him.  When you see him at a party you have a drug-fueled one-night-stand with him.10 years later he finds you again and has to come to terms with the fact he’s been a father all the time.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Boy Next Door](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15676944) by [emilyevanston](https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilyevanston/pseuds/emilyevanston). 



> @iron-man-bingo Square: One Night Stand

The way the drugs coursed through your system made your pulse race and your mind fuzzy at the edges. Everything felt so good and looked so good. You just wanted to touch everything. As you looked around the room the lights danced on the walls drawing your attention. It was like being in a dream.

You saw Tony walk into the room. God, you’d known that man for so long now you couldn’t remember a time pre-Tony. Your father had worked closely with Howard at Stark Industries, meaning that any company picnic or weekend business meeting, Tony was there with you. He had been in the same class at school as your oldest brother and had been the same age as your sister. He’d come to your house after school and pretend to do homework when really he was just taking a break from being a Stark. You had always gotten on well. He was a bit of a shit but nice enough. He’d also always seen you as a kid so that was that. He was just this kid you had grown up with.

When his dad died you’d been at the funeral. You hadn’t been surprised that he stepped up as the CEO of the company. You also hadn’t been surprised that he was still the playboy he had been since he hit puberty. He’d started drinking young and you sometimes worried it would be the drinking that took him out in the end too.

You hadn’t seen him since the funeral and the past ten years he seemed to be circling the drain. Stark Industries was still trading well. He definitely seemed to be inventing the kinds of things the government wanted. But with all the rumors of women and drugs and gambling on top of the weapons building, you wondered what happened to the Tony Stark you had grown up with.

Only now, you weren’t so sure. You were surprised he was even here to be honest. It was just some stupid unofficial high school reunion thing where some people were in town and they had just invited other people who were in town and no one was from the same class or the same age and everyone had thought it would be funny to get a keg and then drugs had been bought and even though you were all supposed to be ‘responsible adults’ you were acting like a bunch of teenagers. _The_ Tony Stark shouldn’t be at a party like that. He was big time. The rest of you were just the rabble.

He seemed so casual though. He was definitely high. Shit, so were you, so you couldn’t judge. He had a suit jacket over a t-shirt with David Bowie on it. The sunglasses he had on, despite it being dark inside, looked expensive whereas the converse he’d matched with his dress pants were the standard kind you could get for thirty bucks. It was the Tony you remembered when you were kids, only now he was in his early thirties.

He looked good too. Fit and well-groomed. You could see exactly what every woman who had ever slept with him must have seen. There was a charm to him. A kind of magnetism that drew you in. You could almost see the threads tugging at you, calling you to him.

You got up off the couch from within the pile of people who were all just snuggled in together watching the lights and you approached him. The music had a deep bass that traveled up your spine and you couldn’t help but move with it. You weaved your way through the group gathered around Tony and smiled at him. “Hey, Tony,” you almost sang in greeting.

“Oh, hey!” He said warmly, pulling you against him in a tight hug. He rubbed his cheek against yours. His beard rubbed against your skin, scratching in that delicious way that sent a tingled through to the back of your head. You reached up and ran your fingers along his jaw, scratching softly at his beard. He almost purred as you did. A deep rumble forming at the back of his throat. “I haven’t seen you in forever. How have you been?”

He asked all this against your ear and didn’t pull away when he was finished talking. He just kept rubbing his face on you and his hands slid over your back. You hummed and closed your eyes. When did he get such great hands? And how did he smell so good?

“I’ve been good. Work mostly. Normal stuff. Not like you.” You answered, pulling your body up close to his. He felt hot and you couldn’t stop touching his face.

He laughed. “No. I haven’t been doing normal stuff.”

He pulled back and took off his glasses, looking into your eyes with his head tilted. His pupils were dilated and he smiled. You licked your lips and he leaned in and kissed you. It was slow and deep. His beard tickled your lips as you sucked on his soft bottom lip. He pulled back, his teeth tugging at your bottom lip. “Fuck,” He sighed. “That felt good.”

Your eyes felt heavy and you nodded. “You’re good at it.”

He kissed you again. This time as his lips caressed yours, his hands slid down to your ass and he gripped it. His tongue slipped into your mouth and you could taste the Scotch he’d been drinking. You moaned and moved in closer to him, pushing a leg between his. His hands slipped under your skirt and teased at the elastic of your panties. You had this far off, distant feeling that that should bother you. It didn’t bother you. His hands felt good and you could care less if everyone in the room could see your ass.

He kissed you for so long that the lack of oxygen began to add to the high you were already experiencing. When he finally broke away, you felt light headed and your lips felt scratchy and slightly numb.

“Shall we go somewhere private?” He said looking into your eyes. You felt yourself getting lost in them. They looked soft and warm but also full of lust. You ran your thumb along the sharp line of his jaw and he licked his lips.

You nodded and swallowed hard. Your mouth was dry and you couldn’t tell if that was just the drugs or because you knew what was about to happen.

“Where?” He asked.

You pulled him upstairs and found an empty guest room. It took a few tries. Apparently you and Tony weren’t the only ones to have the idea.

Tony was on you as soon as the door was closed, kissing and pawing at you. You pulled off each other’s clothes. There was nothing coordinated or sexy about it. You both kept stumbling and knocking into each other, until finally, you both fell onto the bed completely naked, except for your socks.

You stroked his dick and the urge to have it in your mouth took you over. You pushed him back and lapped up the length of his already hard cock. You traced your tongue over the veins and ridges and he moaned and fisted his hand in your hair as you took him into your mouth.

“Oh, fuck.” He groaned. “God, that feels so good.”

You took him deep into the back of your throat and hollowed your cheeks. He leaked precome over your tongue and you hummed as the salty liquid coated your tastebuds. There was something about the drugs, or maybe it was just him, but he tasted so good and you loved the way his shaft felt against your tongue.

“Should this be weird? It doesn’t feel weird, but I feel like it should, don’t you think?” He murmured. You looked up at him. He had his eyes fixed on you, watching as you bobbed up and down on his cock. You laughed a little and continued to suck. It doesn’t feel weird to you either, though you could see why it might feel like it should. You were a little kid when you first met him. Flicking that switch to say you weren’t might be a little strange even if that had been over twenty years ago.

He started to pant. You gazed up at him and watched as his abs kept contracting and releasing and his chest rose and fell. The deep guttural groan he made was pornographic and made your cunt flood.

“Oh, fuck!” He gasped. “Stop. Please. I want to fuck you. I bet it feels so good to be deep in your pussy.”

You released his cock and crawled up his body, sliding against him. “You sound like a bad porn movie.”

“I better fix that.” He growled and rolled you both over. “We’ll make it a good porn movie.”

You both started giggling and he brought his lips to yours. Your pulse raced and your heart felt like it was trying to escape from your chest. His fingers went to your pussy, finding you soaked and ready for him. He pulled his hand away and put his fingers in his mouth. “Fuck.” He groaned. He looked down at your pussy and licked his lips.

His fingers returned and he pushed two inside you and curled them, drawing out more of your fluids as he stroked them along your internal walls. You groaned and pushed up against his hand, whimpering as he removed his fingers and put them in his mouth again and sucked them clean.

He hummed to himself and sat there, looking off into the distance as he sucked his fingers.

“Tony?” You said, waking him from his reverie.

“Sorry,” He said with a chuckle, shaking his head like he was trying to snap himself out of it.

He lined his cock against your entrance and sunk in. You moaned as he gradually filled you. He started to kiss you, slowly and deeply, his hips rolling against you. His cock slides in and out of your cunt, creating a pleasant friction.

He pulled back a little and looked down at you as he continued to move. “You feel that? How connected we are? Feels right.” He murmured. His voice was deep and gravelly like he’d just been pulled from sleep. “This is what it should be like.”

You do feel connected to him. To everything. Like the world is one big organism and you and Tony were the nucleus. Tony moved to his knees in one fluid motion and pulled you into his lap, his cock remaining buried deep inside you.

He started kissing you again, but his mouth didn’t remain on yours. It roamed. Kissing your throat. Sucking on your breasts. You wrapped your legs around his back and leaned back, letting him hold you in place as he thrust up into you.

“Oh, fuck. Tony. You feel so good.” You moaned and began to finger your clit. Tony dragged his teeth over your nipples. Your core clenched and you came. Not hard. Just a wave of pleasure washing over you and taking you over. Your cunt pulsed around Tony’s cock and he emptied inside you with a deep, low moan.

You both just stayed like that for a while. Wrapped around each other. Your head resting on his shoulder and his pressed into your neck.

Eventually, you slid off his lap and in some unspoken understanding, you both got dressed. He turned to you before you both left the room. “Do you have someone to be with when you come down?” He asked.

“Yeah,” You said. “Beth and I talked each other into getting high. I’m going to crash at her place.” You said.

Tony nodded and kissed you softly. “Good. This was good. It was really nice seeing you.”

* * *

“Mom! Are you home? Where are you?” You look up startled from your computer. The sound of your son’s voice carried through your apartment. He was home too early and you stood up quickly and went to the door, worried something had happened.

That night with Tony had been 10 years ago. The high had lasted a week in the end. You had a whole week of feeling loving and invulnerable and just pleased with the life choices you had been making. Then you had crashed and it had been a doozy. You cried for a full day. Beth had actually slept in your bed that night because she had been worried that you might hurt yourself. After that, you’d never taken recreational drugs again. The high was nice, but it wasn’t worth the crash.

The next day, as you started to level out, was when you had realized what had happened. You had slept with Tony Stark and not used protection at all. By the time you had that epiphany, it was too late. You were pregnant. Pregnant to the kid who had always been around at your house. The son of the guy your dad worked for. The guy who was well and truly lost in the playboy lifestyle. You were sure he wouldn’t give a shit about you, the back or what you wanted.

So you told no one.

You had your baby alone. You’d stayed in New York because Tony was in LA. There was no reason to try and avoid him, he didn’t really travel in your circles anymore. You raised Owen alone and started your new life as a single parent.

It was hard. Being a single mother was hard. You did it though. You were smart and you had an education. You found a job you loved and was supportive of your situation. Owen grew and started school. People would ask you who his father was, but no one had guessed. Why would they? Tony Stark was not a part of your life. He was just some rich guy you had known way back when. Even though Owen was brilliant and witty and sarcastic. Even though he was almost a little clone of his father. Not one person suspected at all.

“Owen?” You called.

Owen ran down the hall and crashed into you hugging you and then tugging on your hand. “Oh my god, mom. You won’t believe it. We had our science fair today. And I won. But guess who the judge was?”

He dragged you into the living room and you stopped dead. It felt like your heart had stopped. Or maybe it was time itself. Tony Stark was standing in your hand holding one of your framed photos in your hand and looking at it. He looked up at you over the red-lensed sunglasses he was wearing and put it down on the shelf.

“It’s Tony Stark, mom! He drove me home. Said he wanted to meet you!” Owen said.

“Owen! You just got in a car with a complete stranger?” You said. There were so many emotions running through you right now you felt like you were about to vomit. You couldn’t believe Owen would just get into a car with someone he didn’t know. The fact that the person was his dad just made the whole matter worse.

“It’s okay. We spoke to the principle. I had my security. It was all cleared.” Tony said. “Besides, we’re not strangers, are we?”

Owen looked from you to Tony and then back again. “You know Tony Stark?” He asked you.

“Yeah, we knew each other when we were kids,” Tony answered.

“What!?” Owen said looking awestruck. “You never told me that!”

“It’s been a while,” Tony said. “About ten years right?”

“What… what… how… why are you here?” You stuttered.

“You want to maybe have a coffee and catch up?” Tony asked.

You nod just once and he comes over to you. “Owen, get started on your homework please.”

“Aww, mom. I wanted to talk to Mr. Stark.” Owen complained.

“You can. Soon. Just…” You stuttered.

“Let us catch up first, pal. I’ll help you with your homework after.” Tony said.

You followed him into the kitchen. It felt like there was too much gravity. That it was pulling you down into the ground. Every step you took was a struggle. You step into the kitchen and closed the door behind you.

Tony took the coffee pot off its burner and rinsed it out. “So. I was at this science fair. It was last minute. They were going to get Bill Nye but he got sick. I was at the tower and my publicist called me. It was my old school so I thought, why not? Would be fun to see the little potato batteries.”

He filled the pot with water and then emptied it into the machine’s tank. He started looking through your cupboards for filters. “So I’m going down the aisle and this kid has made an exoskeleton glove that has biometric sensors. He’s nine-years-old and doing college-level engineering.”

He finally found the filters and set up the coffee pot, going to your freezer and getting out the coffee, and adding in a few spoons. When he turned the machine on he turned to you and leaned back against the bench. “So I’m talking to this kid and he tells me he was raised by his mom. He tells me her name. And I’m like… I know someone by that name. Shit. I had a one night stand with someone by that name. I have my AI look it up for me. Low and behold, it’s not some coincidence. It is you. You have a son. Owen. No father listed on the birth certificate. So at this point, I’m just trying to stay calm. I mean, just because we had unprotected sex 10 years ago once, that doesn’t mean anything. Maybe you did that a lot back then. I mean, it wasn’t exactly hard to talk you into it.”

“Hypocrite,” You hissed.

Tony laughed and ran his hand through his hair. “No judgment. I’m actually hoping that maybe you did sleep with a bunch of people, to be honest.” He said, glancing at the kitchen door. “He’s mine though isn’t he?”

You looked down at your feet and gave a small nod. “Yes.”

“And what? You were just never going to tell me? Are you fucking kidding me right now?” He kept his voice quiet, but you could tell he was furious. Pure fury dripped from every single word.

You looked up at him. He was still as handsome as you remembered him. You had intentionally been trying to avoid all news about him. Much to Owen’s annoyance. He was a science kid and he loved the Avengers. He wanted to go into the city and look at the monument for the battle of New York. To have a tour of Avengers Tower. To see if he could spot his favorite heroes.

His hair was lighter than you remembered and getting a little gray in it. His eyes were more wrinkled at the corners. But he still dressed the same and kept his beard as immaculately trimmed. Cleaning himself up and becoming Iron Man had just made him be the guy he’d meant to be. It hadn’t changed the core Tony Stark.

You swallowed hard. “You’re telling me, that that guy back then. The guy who was high and always drunk. The guy who slept his way through all the Maxim cover models. Who was well known for partying and sleeping around. Who drove his car into someone’s pool. That guy wouldn’t have just thrown a wad of cash at me and told me to get an abortion?”

He flinched like you’d slapped him in the face. “What the fuck? I know we were never really close, but I thought you’d have a little more faith in me than that.”

You shook your head. “Hey, if I hadn’t gotten pregnant to some guy who was completely off his face. Some guy who fucked me and left immediately. I might have thought that too. But I did.”

He drew himself up straight and strode over to you, leaning in close. “You were off your face on drugs too, if I remember right. You fucked me. And then you left too. Yet, here you are with a nine-year-old son and all your shit together. You could have at least given me an option.” He snarled.

“So what? What would you have done, Tony?” You snapped, trying to keep your voice down so that Owen couldn’t hear you. “Think back to who you were then. Tony Stark. Billionaire, playboy. Different girl every week. Flying off to sell your weapons or go to parties. In the paper for something or other, you’d been caught doing every other week. You get some girl you knew as a kid pregnant in a drugged up one-night-stand. She somehow gets in contact with you. Goes to your publicist or something, who the fuck knows. She says, ‘Hey man, you knocked me up. I’m keeping it.’ What do you do?”

He leaned back against the bench again and took off his glasses, wiping the lenses on his t-shirt. As he did he looked at the kitchen door to where your son is doing his homework. His son.

“I wouldn’t have believed you. I would have assumed you were like every other chick who has said I got her pregnant and was lying about it. I would have demanded a DNA test. When I knew for sure that kid was mine… I would have wanted to be a part of this.” He growled the last part and for a moment you were actually terrified of him. “How dare you take that decision away from me?”

You sighed and went to the door looking in at Owen. He was sitting on the floor at the coffee table. The TV was on playing some YouTuber he likes while he goes over his homework, filling out the worksheet like it’s the easiest thing in the world.

It had been hard. Owen had asked who his dad was. A lot. You had never really known what to say. You always just told him that he was a nice man who was not around because he couldn’t be. He would hate you for lying to him this whole time.

You closed the door and turned back to Tony. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, okay?” You groaned. “I was alone and scared. I didn’t want him to grow up with that life you were living. I didn’t want to give you the option to reject him either. That would have been worse. If I came to you and said, ‘here’s your son’ and you’d told me to fuck off and that you didn’t want anything to do with him.”

Tony put his glasses in his pocket and approached you. He pushed a stray lock of hair from your face and you looked up into his eyes. “You’ve done a really good job. He’s a really smart kid. And sweet. His project was amazing and when he spoke about it he was so excited and friendly and funny. You’ve done a really good job raising him.”

“Thank you.” You said as tears pricked your eyes.

“So. Now what?” He asked.

You took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. This was the moment. This was where all three of your lives could drastically change and the decision you made was going to be whether it was for the better or for the worse.

“Do you want me to introduce you? I mean… as his dad?” You asked.

Tony took his glasses back out of his pocket, unfolded them, went to put them back on. Stopped. Then folded them up again and put them in his pocket. “Yes. If that’s okay. Shit. This day took a turn I was not prepared for.”

You took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “If you need more time. I can always start preparing him. I doubt he’s expecting to meet his dad today either.”

Tony looked at you, his eyes soft and a little scared. “I think it’s been long enough.” He linked his fingers with yours and you led him back into the living room.


	2. Chapter 2

You stepped through the door, your hand linked with Tony’s. Each step that took you closer to your son, your hand tightened in Tony’s. You were acutely aware of the pain forming in your chest. Owen looked up at you and smiled, completely unaware that his life was about to change forever.

You’d spent the last ten years lying to everyone. Your family, Owen, yourself. You had told everyone that Owen’s father wasn’t interested in being a parent. That you could do this alone. You never once admitted to anyone that you got drugged out of your mind and fucked your childhood friend with no protection. That the childhood friend was Tony Stark. That you never even had the courage to tell him in case he didn’t want to be part of his son’s life. Or worse, he did and ended up dragging his son down into the self-destructive drain that Tony had been circling back then.

Now all the things you had done thinking you were protecting Owen were about to blow up in your face.

“Owen?” You said, your voice shaking a little.

Owen tapped his pen on the homework he was working on. An expression of confusion crossed his face as he looked at you and Tony holding hands. “Are we gonna work on my homework now, Mister Stark?”

You let go of Tony’s hand and went and sat down in front of Owen. Tony stayed at the door, leaning against the frame as he watched the two of you. You couldn’t read him at all. His face just seems completely neutral. “Bud,” You said, putting your hands on Owen’s. “We need to talk.”

“What is it, mom?” Owen said looking up at you. His attention switched to Tony and he frowned. “Do you have to go, Mister Stark?”

“No. I can stay for a while.” Tony said.

“Oh, that’s great,” Owen said. “I have heaps of things I want to show you.”

“Bud,” You said. “This is important.”

Owen looked back at you again with his brow furrowed. “Sorry, mom. I’m listening.”

You took a deep breath and looked down at your hands. “I don’t really know how to say this.” You said. “You know how I said I knew Tony… uh… Mister Stark?”

“Yeah, that’s really cool,” Owen said. “Will you be coming by more? You think I could come and visit the Avengers Tower?”

Tony smiled and nodded. “That would be great. Anytime you want.” Tony said. The way his voice came out, deep, but soft and filled with longing, hurt a little. Keeping him from Owen had been a mistake. You’d always thought you had been doing the right thing, but you’d been selfish. You should have given him the choice.

You looked back at Owen who was smiling up at Tony. It looked like he was buzzing in his seat. You could imagine his mind was full of all the things he was going to get to see at the Avengers Tower. Along with all the boasting he was going to do at school. His mom was friends with Iron Man and now he was going to get to meet the other Avengers too.

“Owen,” You whispered. “Tony is your dad.”

A whole slew of emotions passed over Owen’s face. Shock. Excitement. Anger. It settled on confusion. He looked up at Tony confused and in obvious pain. “You’re my dad?”

Tony nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but Owen interrupted him. “Why didn’t you want me?”

Your breath hitched and you started to cry. Silent tears slipped down your cheeks as you looked at you son trying to process this bomb you just dropped on him.

Tony straightened up and moved forward hesitantly. “Hey, hey. It wasn’t like that. We… your mom and I… We weren’t together. We weren’t even really friends back then. I was in LA. She was here.” He babbled and then stopped suddenly putting his glasses back on. “She never told me about you.”

Owen looked back at you, the confusion gone and replaced with anger. “You said he couldn’t be my dad. You never even told him?”

You shook your head. “Back then he was different. I - I thought I was doing what was best.”

“You made it so I didn’t have a dad!” He yelled, shoving you away from him. He got up and rushed to his room, pushing past Tony as he left.

You got up to follow after him but Tony took your hand. “Let me,” He said. “I’ll explain how it was. You won’t be the bad guy.”

“I should be the bad guy,” You sobbed. “I fucked this all up. You both missed out on everything because of me.”

Tony hugged you. Somehow that made it worse. You’re the one that did this and it’s still Tony comforting you for your shitty decision making. “You fucked up. You’re still his mom. I’ll talk to him.”

You nodded and he let you go, following Owen down to his room.

* * *

Tony made his way down to Owen’s room, checking each door for the one. There had been a lot to process, to say the least. He woke up fairly excited for the day. He had no pressing Avengers work. He got to go visit his old school and hang out with kids who he knew would be excited to see him. He had planned to go out drinking with Rhodey tonight.

He did not, at any point, expect to find out that he had a son. All things considered, he was holding together pretty well. Sure he felt queasy and his pulse was racing, but he hadn’t yelled at anyone, so he was going to take that as a good thing.

He found Owen sitting at his desk in his room, working on a circuit board, a scowl on his face. He could already see so much of himself in that boy. He understood why you did what you did, but he was so angry about it. It wasn’t fair that he’d missed out on being a parent. On being up all night because Owen had colic. The first steps. First words. His first day of school. You’d stolen that from him. From both of them. It was hard not to be angry about it.

He took a deep breath to steady himself and counted down from ten in his head. Right now he had to be a dad. His son was upset. Tony needed to reassure him.

He sat down on the bed and looked at Owen. “Hey. I know you’re mad. I’m mad too. But she thought she was protecting you.”

Owen spun in his chair and looked at Tony. His eyes were shimmering with tears. “I used to always wonder where my dad was. People made fun of me for not having one. Even kids whose parents were divorced knew who their dad was. I’d ask because I knew I had to have one. I know to make a baby you need sperm and an egg. Even if you have two moms or two dads, you need a man and a woman to make the baby. But mom would always say ‘he’s a good man, but he couldn’t be your dad’. She lied to me.”

The stress seemed to overwhelm the young boy and he flopped down on his bed and just started openly weeping. Tony started to rub his back in large slow circles. He paused to think of what he could actually say. He didn’t know this boy at all. He didn’t know what Owen know about sex, drugs, or anything really. He didn’t know what he could say that would make this kid understand when Tony barely understood why you didn’t at least approach him for the money. “You know about sex right?” He said lamely.

“Yeah. I mean, more than most of my friends. Mom answers questions when I have them.” He said not looking up.

Tony let out a breath. “The big secret adults never tell you is the reason why they do it is because it was fun. Back the night we made you… your mom and I hadn’t seen each other for a long time. I wasn’t really the best person. I was kinda selfish and just wanted to have fun. I was doing lots of stupid things and making lots of bad choices. I saw your mom when we were both feeling a bit weak and we decided to have some fun. When she found out about you she decided that I would be a really bad dad. She decided that no dad is better than a bad dad.” Tony explained, feeling quite stupid. “She was right about that. Trust me. No dad is better than a bad dad.”

Owen sat up and pulled his knees up, looking into Tony’s eyes. They were brown too. Just like Tony’s. “Would you have been a bad dad?”

Tony sighed and took his glasses back off. “I don’t know. I don’t know that I would have been as bad as she thought. She thought I’d tell you I didn’t love you. That’s not true. I know I would have loved you. But I was stupid back then. I wouldn’t have made the time for you that you needed. I wouldn’t have been around much at all.” He said. “I want to make time for you now though. Can I be your dad, Owen?”

Owen gave a small shrug. “I don’t even know you. I want to have a dad but you’re just some guy.”

Tony felt a stabbing pain in his heart and numbness crawl up his left arm. He rubbed it and pumped his fist. “I know. I don’t want to just be some guy. You’re part of me.”

There was a long pause where Owen thought. While Owen thought, Tony overthought. Maybe you had been right to do this. Maybe he would still fuck up Owen’s life. Maybe he should have just offered you a big cash payment so he could have a nice house and go to a good school and let the kid grow up without the curse of being a Stark.

Before his thought process got too out of hand Owen looked up. “What would I call you?”

“You can call me whatever you want. Tony is fine. I don’t mind if you want to call me dad either. Just… go with your gut, kid.” Tony said.

“How would we do this if you’re an Avenger?” Owen asked.

“I’ll do my best. We’ll work something out with your mom. You can come spend weekends at the tower. Or even whole weeks. It’s a drive to your school, but that would be okay. I might have things come up, but we can make this work.” Tony said. “It’s never going to be the same as having a dad who’s always around. Maybe one day your mom will meet someone and they’ll get married and that man will be more your dad than I ever can be. But we can still be something. I can be there for you.”

Owen started to cry again and threw his arms around Tony, sobbing against his chest. Tony hesitated at first before closing his arms around Owen. “We’ll work on it, okay, bud?” I promise. Try not to be too mad at your mom. She loves you.” He said though he felt quite mad at you himself.

* * *

You had gone and poured yourself a coffee while you waited for Tony to come out of the bedroom. You felt like the absolute worst person ever. You couldn’t believe how much pain you’d caused everyone. You knew it was going to get worse too. You were going to have to figure out custody. You were going to have to tell your family and admit you’d been lying all this time. The press was likely going to find out. Tony had enemies. Big ones. Now you had to worry about that too. You wouldn’t be surprised if Owen didn’t spend the rest of his life resenting you for this.

When you finally decided to sit down, Tony came down from Owen’s room. You jumped up and looked at him anxiously.

“You and I have a lot of talking to do. There’s a bunch of stuff we have to organize. Do you have a lawyer?” Tony asked.

You shook your head. “I can get one.”

“I’m going to take him out to get some pizza. I have a lot of time to catch up on.” He said. “My security team will be there if you’re worried.”

“It’s fine. Of course.” You said. “I’m so sorry, Tony.”

Tony took his glasses out of his pocket and put them back on as Owen came down from the bedroom dressed to go outside. “When we get back we’ll talk about some of the stuff unofficially. You can’t keep him from me anymore.”

You nodded and Tony put his arm around Owen’s shoulders and led him out. As soon as the door closed you began to go through all the ways you could possibly make up for how monumentally you had fucked up.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Square: “Does Tony have a son?”

“I want to try and make up the time with him quickly. I know he’s got school to worry about. But I can maybe come and get him after school a couple of days this week. I’d like to shuffle things around and take him out on weekends too. You’ve had him 9 years, I’d like to start getting to know him properly.”

Tony had gotten back from taking Owen out for pizza late. While he’d been gone you had a long phone conversation with your mother about what happened. To say she was unhappy about your lying was an understatement. After Owen was ready for bed, Tony had gone and sat with him, chatting about things, almost like he was just telling him stories based on his time as Iron Man, until Owen fell asleep.

His parenting instinct maybe wasn’t perfect, but it was strong. You couldn’t believe you had kept Owen from him.

When Owen was asleep, he turned his attention on you.

“Tony, I want to make this right. You can spend as much time as you want with him. I just - I’m not sure…” You trailed off not sure how to tell him that you didn’t really know him very well and you’re not sure if you can trust him to be completely alone with your son. Even letting Tony take him out tonight, despite the fact he had security with him, had filled you with anxiety. He was a multimillionaire. He could have taken him anywhere or done anything. Despite the fact you’d basically grown up together, you barely knew him anymore.

“Oh my god!” Tony groaned. “Are you seriously about to make some excuse as to why I can’t see my son now?” He tapped his left arm and leaned forward, looking you in the eyes. “I am really, really trying to keep myself together today. I think I’ve done pretty well considering. But so help me…”

The anger and frustration dripped from his words. It might have helped you build a case against him being alone with Owen, except you knew where he was coming from. If you were in his shoes, you would have lost it a long time ago.

You put your hand on his. “Tony,” You said, quietly. “You’re right. I had my reasons, but I was wrong. There is no way I can make up for what I’ve done. I want you to spend as much time as you can with him. I just… I don’t know you.”

Tony balled his hands into fists. “What exactly are you accusing me of here?”

You took a deep breath to steady yourself. “I’m trying to say, I haven’t dated anyone in ten years because I have trouble trusting strangers with my son. And it makes me anxious thinking of him being alone with someone I barely know.”

Tony opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again, his teeth clenched, and his jaw twitching. He tapped out a pattern on the table as he seemed to try and steady his emotions. “You do know me.”

“I haven’t seen you for 10 years and when I last saw you, you were high.” You counter.

“I’m Iron Man.” He said. “I fight to protect people. And I’m his dad. What the hell do you think I’m going to do to him?”

“And no father has ever hurt their child? Please try to see this from my point of view. Or look at it from the point of view of his dad. Do you want me to just let him spend time alone with strange men?” You implored. “I’m not saying I’ll never trust you. I just… I need time to feel like he’s safe when he’s with you. That’s all.”

There was silence for the longest time. Tony just sat opposite you at the table playing with his glasses. Gradually, he relaxed and looked up at you. “I get it. It doesn’t have to be alone, to begin with. You can come with us. Or… or we can find someone to chaperone you’re happy with. I have security people, if you have a babysitter it can be them. I don’t know. I can get Captain America if you like. Do you trust Captain America?”

You let yourself relax a little and let out a soft breath. The start of laughter but not actually laughter. You reached over and took his hands in yours. “Thank you for being so understanding. I know this must be hard for you. Honestly, you’re taking it better than my mom did.”

Tony let out a laugh and stifled it quickly as he pulled his hands away and ran them through his hair. “I just - I can’t believe this is happening. I don’t even know how I’m supposed to feel about all of this. Should I be excited? Scared? Angry? I feel like I’m in emotional overload and normally when that happens I shut people out but I know if I do that, I lose him before I even got him in the first place.”

You leaned back and nodded. “I know what you mean. I don’t know what I was expecting either. I had always just assumed you’d tell me that it had nothing to do with you.”

Tony shook his head. “He’s my son.” He said. “Which brings me to another thing. You can’t live here. He’s my son. I’m going to give you back pay for child support. We can work out the number later. But you need to use it to move somewhere more secure. When this gets out, this is not going to be safe for him.”

You blinked at him a few times. “You don’t need to give me any money.”

“He’s my son,” Tony repeated. There was a pain in the words this time. Like he didn’t think he was going to be enough for him.

You took his hand and nodded again. “I know.”

* * *

Over the course of the next two months Tony seemed to devote all this time to creating a relationship with Owen and proving to you he could be trusted. Certainly, for a man who ran a billion-dollar company and acted as a superhero, he wasn’t spending much time doing either. He was picking him up from school three days a week and taking him out. He was coming by both on Saturdays and Sundays and either just hanging out at your place or taking him on outings. They did museums and zoos and movies and bands. A couple of times he even went with you to look at houses. Sometimes you went with them. Sometimes it was an agreed-upon chaperone. If they went out it was always a team of at least two security.

He and Owen just clicked too. Owen was in so many ways, so much like his father. He was smart and sarcastic and curious. Tony seemed to take to the whole parenting thing pretty naturally too. He was overcompensating for the missing time and he second-guessed himself a lot, but in those moments when they both just relaxed and talked tech or science or one of what seemed to be becoming a long list of things they were both passionate about, it was like he had always been Owen’s dad. Tony would listen to Owen like everything he had to say was the most interesting thing in the world.

In those moments when you saw them like that you would start going over what might have been different if you had just told him. He was so different back then. Railing against his own father who had died before he’d ever been accepted by him. He definitely wouldn’t have believed you. He might even have accused you of getting pregnant on purpose for the money. Maybe it might have been okay in the end. Maybe you could have moved to LA and he could have been part of Owen’s life. Maybe you could have shared custody. He could have had him overnight and every second weekend. You wouldn’t have had to do this alone. You might have actually had time to have your own life and maybe even date. Owen would have had someone else he knew would be there for him. Tony would have had that exciting moment when he’d been called ‘dada’.

Not that everything was going smoothly and stress-free. Dealing with lawyers even at this early stage and with neither of you particularly arguing anything wasn’t exactly easy. You hated to think what it would be like if Tony she’d you for custody. You hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

His friends seemed to have a mixed reaction to you. From what Owen had said they’d all gone out of their way to make sure he felt at home there. From what Tony had said there had been bets made about whether or not he had some secret kid he didn’t know about. Most of them were at least polite if they ever saw you. Rhodey had come and told you that while he wasn’t sure you should have kept the secret, he got it and maybe Tony finding out now was better. He was ready now. Back then he as a mess. Clint Barton was openly hostile. Tony said it was because he had kids. You supposed you understood that.

That wasn’t the worst bit though. The worst bit was the press.

It was only one outing there was speculation on the internet. “Does Tony Stark have a son?” They couldn’t get any actual confirmation that it was true though. Thankfully, the people who knew were smart enough to not talk to the press and Tony wasn’t actually listed on the birth certificate. Even still they decided after two weeks of spotting the two of them together that he must be his son. After that, it was everywhere. Paparazzi began stalking him, yelling out to him in the street to get him to admit it. They camped outside your house and would approach Owen. Tony put security at your place too, but you could tell the fact you still lived there was causing him a great deal of anxiety.

At the two month mark, Tony had organized a trip for the two of you to the Natural History Museum after it had closed. Owen was extremely excited to get what he was calling the ‘A Night at the museum tour’. He ran through the halls of taxidermied animals, his feet echoing through the place as you and Tony strolled along behind him.

None of this stuff was particularly Tony’s expertise but you could see him sharing in the excitement whenever Owen called him over to look at something.

“We need to work out what we’re going to do from here, don’t you think?” Tony asked as you trailed along after Owen. “I really want him to start doing sleepovers. I mean… I think it’s time, don’t you? But there’s the Avengers stuff. I keep thinking that the first time I have him over something big will happen and I’ll get called out and then what?”

You went to answer but Owen excitedly called you over to look at the family of elephants. “Are these African or Asian?” Tony asked.

“African. You can tell by the ears.” Owen answered.

He took off again and you chuckled and followed after at the slow pace you had been walking before. “That’s a good idea. I - the stuff before - about the chaperone. I trust you.”

“Good. That’s good.” He said. “I don’t want to go through the courts for custody. I want to just work it out with you. This is hard enough as it is.”

“I’m not against you, Tony. I know you don’t trust me. You don’t have any reason to trust me. But I promise I want to give you guys what I can.”

“I thought to begin with he could come and visit every second weekend,” Tony said, thrusting his hands in his pockets. “But… Okay so hear me out. I think until you find a new place you should move into the tower. The press are assholes. It’ll be safer for you both there.”

“Tony, I don’t know…” You said.

“Look, I know it’s gonna be weird us living in the same building. But it’s not like we’d be living in the same apartment. You’d have your own place. There are actual apartments there. I can have a car take you to and from work and one to take Owen to and from school.” He said. “Plus it would give you a chance to see what it’s like for me day-to-day. And I’ll be able to see him a little more regularly.”

You took a deep breath and watch as Owen stopped to look at the Bison. “Alright. I want to keep him safe and you’re right. But it’s not forever, Tony. Just until I find something more suitable.”

He smiled and seemed to relax. “Great. Fantastic. This will be great.”

* * *

The move into the Avengers Tower happened really quickly. Within a week your apartment was empty and things were on their way to being unpacked in the new place. It wasn’t as big a place as your old one but the idea was it would be temporary. You and Owen were looking for a house, and with the money from Tony, it was going to be a lot nicer than either place.

Living in the tower brought with it a lot of benefits though. The buildings AI was amazing. She ordered in your regular groceries as you ran out of them. She would turn lights on and off as you need them. Lock and unlock doors. She knew where Tony was all the time. You started to wonder if you could go back to not having her around.

The building had a gym and a pool. There was a thing called the party deck where the Avengers’ would hang out and they’d invite you and Owen up. The longer you were there the more they settled into having you around and the resentment any of them felt for hurting their friend seemed to dissipate. Especially as Tony slipped deeper and deeper in his role of father.

You started getting along better with Tony too. Eventually, it got to the point that it had felt like there had been no missing time between the two of you. He’d show up at the apartment and you’d all eat together and he’d help Owen with his homework, or they’d do some other little project together. Then he’d tell him watered down Iron Man stories to him at bedtime. It wasn’t every night, but it was most nights.

There was the whole ‘Avenging’ thing that would get in the way, and it was nerve-wracking. Being this close to it you hadn’t considered out stressful it would be to have someone you were so connected to out risking their life. You could see it was affecting Owen too. He was always so relieved and almost clung to Tony when he got back.

Finding a place was difficult though. Or maybe you lacked the motivation. Whatever the case you ended up being there for months building a comfortable routine with Tony.

“What are you guys feeling for dinner?” He asked one Friday afternoon as Owen let him in. “You want to order in? Or are you cooking?”

“Ordering in sounds good. Work was a killer.” You said, coming out of the kitchen to greet him.

“Can we get burgers?” Owen asked.

Tony ruffled his hair and handed him his phone. “You know the drill.” He said before collapsing on the couch.

“You two and burgers.” You said sitting down beside Tony. “How much do you have them when I’m not around?”

Tony put his finger to his lips. “Shh…”

Owen cracked up laughing. “Hardly any, mom.” He joked as he tapped around on Tony’s phone. “Alright. Ordered something for everyone, dad.”

Tony and your heads snapped up. You looked at each other and then at him. Tony’s jaw dropped open in shock.

Owen looked down at his shoes and furrowed his brow. “Should I not have called you that? I can call you Tony. Sorry.”

Tony almost tripped he jumped up so quickly. He pulled Owen into a tight hug. “No. No, no, no.” He soothed. “I was just surprised. But… good. It’s a good surprise. You’ve never called me that before.” He crouched down and looked Owen in the eye. “I am your dad and I’d love if you called me that.”

Owen nodded his head. “Okay. ‘Cause that’s what I want to call you.”

* * *

That night after Owen was in bed, Tony came down and sat down next to you, holding a tumbler of Scotch a little too tightly.

You smiled at him and patted his leg. “You’re a dad now.”

He returned the smile almost hesitantly at first until he was beaming at you. “I know.” He said, with a slight shake in his voice. “I hoped that one day he might call me that. I wasn’t getting my hopes too high because of how long I’ve not been part of his life. But I hoped. I had no idea it would feel so good and so scary when he did it though.”

You tried to hold it together as he spoke, but once again it hit you, how much you stole from them.

You burst into tears and Tony put his drink down and wrapped you in his arms. “Hey, now. I’m not planning on taking him from you.” He said.

You shook your head, wiping your tears on his t-shirt. “It’s not that. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I kept him from you.”

“We can’t keep going over that,” Tony said. “It happened. You can’t keep beating yourself up over it.”

“You should have been a daddy though. You should have got to hear him say dada when he was learning to talk.” You sobbed.

He tilted your face up to his. “I know. It sucks. It sucks that I missed that. But he just called me dad. This is a good day.”

You nodded a little pathetically and he wiped the tears from your cheeks with his thumbs as he cradled you jaw. You looked up into the brown of his eyes and you saw it. His eyes flicked to your lips. You felt your breath hitch and your eyes flicked to his. They were parted just a little, almost inviting you in. You looked back into his eyes and he ran his thumb over your bottom lip.

“Have you really not been with anyone since me?” He asked, his voice almost a soft growl.

You shook your head, not sure what exactly was happening right now. Not sure if anything should happen right now. It did though. It felt like time stopped. Your heart was beating in your ears and you couldn’t stop looking at his lips as they came closer and closer. His breath tickled your skin and you closed your eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Square: Unrequited Crush?

Tony’s lips pressed against yours. Gently at first, just testing the waters. They were so soft and the feather touch he used made your skin prickle. Your hands ran up to the back of his head and you tugged at his hair. He moaned and deepened the kiss. You parted your lips and right away there was the press of his tongue, hot and wet, touching on yours.

It had been so long since you had been with anyone, that you had completely forgotten that the last person you were with was this one. Your body responded on autopilot, craving his touch, wanting more and more.

He started guiding you back on the couch and you spread your legs, letting him move between them. His cock hardened and the press of it through his trousers and your own pants created heat and friction that sent currents of pleasure surging through you.

His hand traveled up under your shirt and finally, reason kicked in. “Stop. Stop, Tony.” You murmured, almost unintelligible.

“It’s okay. I have protection.” He whispered against your neck.

Your body seemed to want to betray you because you tilted your head back giving him more access to you even as your mind screamed how bad of an idea this is. “No. Tony. It’s not that. Please stop.”

He sat up and looked at you with both confusion and frustration written on his features. “What’s wrong?”

You sat back up and drew your knees up against your body. Your panties were soaked through and were making you slightly more uncomfortable than you already felt. “This is a bad idea.”

“I promise, we’ll be careful. I have condoms.” He said. “No more siblings for Owen until we are ready for them.”

You flinched. How long had he been thinking about this that he’d already planned you both having more kids? “Tony… listen to yourself. You have a son in there who only just called you dad.”

“I know that. And you’re his mom. We should be together. We don’t have to get married unless you want to but we should be living in the same place. Not just friendly acquaintances that live in different boroughs.” He said. The frustration was clear in his voice as he pleaded for you to see it from his point of view.

You sighed as that heartbroken feeling of ruining everything that you used to be burdened with suddenly came back full force. Not that you would have wanted to live with him back then either. It just so much worse now that you aren’t sure about it because now those things do sound nice. But the reasoning is wrong. “Do you really want to add the complication of dating me to the new thing you have just got going with Owen? What if we don’t work out? The custody stuff is hard enough to deal with while we’re getting along.”

Tony ran his hands down his face and got up and started pacing. When he spoke he was obviously worked up. “I want to try. I hate this. I hate that I barely know him. I hate I only get to see him when you say that it’s okay to and up until recently someone had to be supervising us. I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted kids, but I met him and I know I do now. But this wasn’t how I wanted to do it.”

You stood up and put your hands on your hips. “So is that who I am? You’re own personal broodmare? We move into your house so you can be with Owen full-time and when you feel like it, you get to knock me up again and then be a dad the way you feel is the right way to be one?” You hissed, keeping your voice at just above a whisper for fear that Owen will wake up and hear you fighting. “Do you even like me like that?”

Tony stopped and stared at you, putting his glasses back on. “I like you… we could… Fuck!” He groans loudly. “Fuck!”

“Tony! Keep your voice down!” You spat. “You need to think about him and not your fucking preconceived notions about what being a dad should look like. If you actually want this -” You said indicating between the two of you. “To be something more, we can’t just jump into it because you’re horny or you have some image of how things are supposed to be!”

You stormed off to your room. You thought maybe you heard Tony whisper your name but you’re too upset to care.

* * *

The next day when Tony came to pick Owen up, things were tense between the two of you. Owen picked up on it immediately and seemed to go into some kind of repair mode. It made you feel guilty as hell.

“Dad, why don’t we take mom to the zoo?” He suggested, looking from one of you to the other. “Or… or we could go see a show on broadway. Me and mom have been talking about seeing that Harry Potter one forever now.”

Tony sighed and put his hand on Owen’s shoulder. “I was hoping we could do something, just you and me today, bud.”

“I know… but…” He said, looking at you.

“It’s okay. You see me all the time. Go spend time with your dad.” You said.

“Maybe, can we have dinner together tonight?” He said hopefully.

You looked at Tony and he gave a slight nod. “Sure. I’ll cook something for the three of us.”

Owen looked between the two of you and frowned slightly. “Okay.”

* * *

Tony had ended up taking Owen to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum figuring there would likely be some Iron Man and War Machine things to show off to him. Owen kept looking back at him as they walked around. Each time Tony tried to get Owen to engage in one of the activities, the boy barely participated.

They sat down in the cafeteria at lunch and Tony looked him over as he ate his slice of pizza. “You don’t have to worry about me and your mom.”

“What’s going on with you guys?” Owen asked. “Yesterday you were happy and getting along and today you won’t even look at each other. Is it because I called you dad? I can not do that.”

Tony felt a pain in his chest. He reached over and put his hand on Owen’s shoulder and looked him in the eye. “It has nothing to do with anything you did. I love you so much, bud. That’s never going to change. I made a mistake last night. I really like your mom, but now she’s upset with me because I’m an idiot.”

“What did you do?” Owen asked.

Tony shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s not really the point. She was right. I need to worry about you and me first. Okay?”

“Please? What did you do?” Owen begged.

Tony let out a breath and ran his hand through his hair. “I kissed her.”

Owen’s whole face lit up. “But that’s not bad. Maybe you can go on a date. Mom never goes on dates with anyone.”

Tony shook his head. “I’d like to. But she’s right. What if we end up breaking up? You’re the most important thing. I don’t want to make things harder than they need to be.”

“You’re my dad,” Owen said simply. “No matter what happens.”

Tony looked up and smiled at him. “You’re a smart kid, you know?”

Owen laughed. “Yeah, I know.”

* * *

Over the next couple of months, things changed a lot. You decided that moving out was a priority and you ended up finding a Brownstone near his school with decent security, a small yard and a private entrance via an underground garage that would mean going in and out of the front door would be unnecessary.

Tony had decided the best course of action was to back off while you both just get used to each other as parents of Owen and while you dealt with the awkwardness of the kiss and your reaction to it.

Outside the news of Tony’s illegitimate son just became public knowledge so you both just agreed that he should release a statement and ask that the press respect his and your privacy. Not that they ever did.

Ever so slowly you moved on from the kiss and back into the functionally working family unit of two people raising a kid together. It was better that way.

You did still like him though. Not just like. What had started as a crush and a daydream of the three of you as a family, started to become real love. You loved him. He was Owen’s dad. He was the kid you grew up with. But he was more than that. You clicked. He was Tony. Your Tony. You just worried that when you rejected him before you shut the door on the idea. That maybe you’d ruined any chance of you ever being more.

You planned to move just after Owen’s birthday. Tony was excited to hold a party at the tower and had gone completely overboard decorating the party deck and buying gifts. He’d even invited all his friends as well as Owen’s. The Avengers all ended up being mobbed by children. None of them seemed to care at all.

“I seriously can’t believe you kept having a kid with Iron Man a secret.” One of the parents said eyeing Tony as he helped one of the kids reload their Nerf Gun. Her name was Melissa and you kind of hated her. That was the problem with other parents. You had to socialize with them whether you want to or not. “I’d be advertising that everywhere.” She continued. “God, the things I would do with that man.”

You took the cake out of its box and put it on a tray. It was large and elaborate and you weren’t quite sure why you hadn’t just let one of the staff deal with it. Perhaps it was the force of habit. “Well, he wasn’t Iron Man back then, so…” You shrugged and went searching for the candles behind the bar.

“Was it good? I bet he’s a huge dom. Did he hold you down and just fuck the shit out of you? Were there toys?” She asked.

Your eyes went wide and you felt your face get hot and you weren’t sure if it was from embarrassment or fury.

“He totally did, didn’t he? I might try and see if he’d like to go a round or two with me.” She continued before getting up and approaching Tony. Your hands clenched and released as the anger seemed to build in you. You watched as she approached him and sat down. Her hand went to his knee and he laughed. Whatever it was she just said, Tony thought it was hilarious and he laughed at it.

You dropped the candles on the counter and fled from the room, hiding in one of the maintenance closets as you breathed heavily and clutched at your chest. You had thought you had your feelings for Tony in check again. Was this jealousy or were you just disgusted by Melissa? You paced the small space not sure what to do.

Tony knocked on the door and poked his head in. “What are you doing in here, weirdo? I thought we were going to do the cake.”

“Sorry.” You said, shaking your head. “Sorry. I just… needed some space.”

Tony closed the door behind him and stepped cautiously towards you. “Well you’re not going to get any in here, are you? What happened?”

You shook your head again. “That… that woman… and you… she…” You babbled, trying to pull away from him.

He put his hands on your arms and looked into your eyes through the red lenses of his glasses. “I’m not interested in anyone else here.”

You couldn’t even bring yourself to look up at him. “She told me I should be boasting about having sex with you.”

He took off his glasses and cupped your jaw, stroking his thumb over your cheek. “You should be,” He teased. “Look at me.”

You laughed, relaxing a little and raising your head to meet his eyes. “She said she was going to try and pick you up. She wanted to go a few rounds with you.”

Tony chuckled. “Who doesn’t?” He teased. “But there is no one _else_ I’m interested in.” The emphasis he put on the world else caught your attention. You tilted your head, leaning into his hand.

“Else?”

He nodded. “You’re the only one I’m interested in. I’ll wait as long as you need me to.”

“You will?” You asked.

“Yes.”

“You? Wait?”

He chuckled. “Yes. Me.”

“But you’re Tony Stark.”

He laughed a little harder. “I am aware of that, dear.”

“Tony?” You breathed. The sound of the party seemed far off and unimportant now. “What about Owen?”

“Owen is my son. I love him. That’s not going to change.” He said. “I want you. I want to try this. Not because you’re his mother. Not because I think I should only have kids with one person. I just want you. You are beautiful and brave and smart. I like being with you. I want to try being an us. I’ll wait until you see it too. But I’m not fucking any other moms at this party in the meantime. Okay?”

Your breath caught. You weren’t even sure what to say. You swallowed and nodded and he dropped his hand. “You gonna come back to the party?” He asked.

You took his hand in yours. “Just as second.” You said softly.

He looked at you and raised his eyebrow. “You okay?”

You nodded and leaned up. He closed the distance, pressing his lips to yours. It’s brief and tender and something about it centers you.

“Later okay?” He said, putting his glasses back on. “Party first.”

You nodded. “Okay.”

He kissed your forehead and headed back into the noise, you counted to three and followed after him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @iron-man-bingo Square: Friends to Lovers

“So, did you have a good birthday, kid?”

The sound of Tony’s voice traveled down the hall as he spoke with Owen. The party had gone a little later than expected and had been followed by dinner out with the Avengers and that landed right in the middle of the two Harry Potter and the Cursed Child show’s he’d gotten tickets too.

You’d come back to your apartment that was stacked high with moving boxes and were now trying to find space in them for the myriad of new gifts Owen had received. The removalists were coming to take everything tomorrow morning, so you wanted to make sure it was ready to go.

“It was awesome! I never did that many things before. I thought we were done and then there was another thing.” Owen replied, the excitement clear in his voice. He continued talking but the words aren’t clear enough to hear what he is saying.

“Of course. Owen. I’m never going to miss another birthday. I have to make up for all those ones I missed. When you turn 50 I’ll be there.” Tony said.

“Wouldn’t you be dead by then?” Owen giggled.

“I’m never going to die.” Tony joked.

There was a sudden fit of loud laughter from the room and you moved into the kitchen to unpack the dishwasher.

“I wish we weren’t moving. I liked being close to you.” Owen said.

“Yeah. You’ll have a yard though. Maybe you can talk to your mom about getting a dog.” Tony said.

You chuckled and rolled your eyes as resigned yourself to having to go to a shelter with Owen.

“Will you come and visit a lot?” Owen asked.

“As much as I can. And you can come to stay here with me.” Tony answered. “It’s pretty late now though. I think you had better sleep.”

“I’m all worked up though,” Owen complained.

You laughed a little and headed into your bedroom to take a shower. You spend a while just standing under the showerhead, enjoying that perfect pressure and temperature that you’d only ever achieved while living in the Avengers Tower. When you got out, Tony was sitting on the end of your bed. You startled and held your towel closed at your chest.

“Do you want to have that talk?” He asked.

“Can I get dressed first?” You asked.

“Yeah, sure.” He laughed and stepped into the hall. You changed quickly into your pajamas and went and got him.

He closed the door behind him and approached you, running his fingers down your arm. “Did you get a little bit jealous?”

You nodded, feeling a little bit ashamed. “I don’t want you to date anyone else.” You said quietly.

Tony smiled. “That’s okay. I only want to date you anyway.”

You sighed and shook your head. “Last time… when we kissed. You made it seem like you only wanted me because I was Owen’s mom.”

Tony led you to your bed and you sit down side-by-side. “I was an idiot. But we do have a history of being idiots when we’re around each other don’t we?”

“I guess so.” You chuckled softly.

Tony took your hands in his and ran a calloused thumb over your palm. “I got caught up in the moment.” He shook his head like he was trying to clear it. “Fuck. I gotta come clean here. I am not good with all this feelings stuff.”

You laughed a little and he lifted your hand to his face and kissed it. “Alright. So… I definitely … had feelings for you. But I was just… this mess of shit. I was angry at you. So fucking angry. I could see why you did it, but fuck… I couldn’t believe anyone would keep my kid from me like that. But then… you were being so good about it. Letting me see him when I wanted and just trying to make it so this went smoothly. Plus… I really like hanging around with you. I like seeing you with him being a mom. And even though you kept him from me, you also gave him to me. So when he called me dad that first time, I was just this massive ball of mixed emotions. And as you can see…” He gestured to himself. “I am shit at that. And I thought ‘Oh god, I’m his dad. And you’re his mom. And I like you. We should be a family.’ It was maybe not the smartest thing I’ve done. But to be fair, not the dumbest thing I’ve ever done either.”

You lay back on the bed and sighed. Tony lay down beside you and the two of you rolled onto your sides and faced each other. It was a close and intimate position to be in as you stared directly into the warm brown of his eyes. “What changed then?”

“Well, like I said… I do like you. I might… love… you. But you didn’t hear that from me.” He smirked and you snickered at his joke. It made you feel both light and warm and a tight constricting pressure in your chest. “Owen told me that if I thought I liked you, I shouldn’t ignore it. That even if we did break up he’d still be my son. That helped. It made me decide that I needed to get my shit together. I can’t be this emotionally broken asshole who just pushes people away. I can’t be who my dad was. So I’ve been sorting through how I feel. I thought about whether I’d want you if there was no Owen. And I would. There’s a reason why we fucked. And yes, drugs were a huge reason. But I’m attracted to you. I like being around you. I think you’re amazing. So, I’d like to try this.”

You reached over and ran your finger down his cheek and along the line of his jaw. “You’re not afraid of something going wrong?”

He smiled and his eyes crinkled at the corners. “Of course I am. I am terrible at this stuff. But I’ve done the calculations. It’s worth the risk.”

You leaned in and kissed him. It lingered but you didn’t part your lips. It was just a soft warm press of your lips against his before pulling back.

He ran his hand down your arm. “So, what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking you should get more comfortable because you might be here for a long time.”

He tilted his head and scrunched his brow. “That could be taken three ways. Either you’re about to talk forever, you just asked to bang, or you just asked me to marry you.”

You laughed and gave him a shove. “The first one.”

He got up and took his shoes and jacket off. You climbed under the covers and when he saw you, he took off his pants too, before climbing into bed with you in just his boxers and t-shirt. You resumed your positions, lying side-by-side and facing each other. “I really like you too, Tony. I just… I don’t know how to be in a relationship at all. Let alone one with a celebrity. Let alone that person being a celebrity because they’re a genius, billionaire, Avenger, that happens to also be the father of my kid.”

Tony sighed. “It’ll be tough. I’m not going to lie. But that’s already the case, isn’t it?”

You nodded. His fans had not gone easy on you. While they all adored seeing Tony with Owen (something that freaked you out, if you were being honest with yourself), you were getting so much shit slung in your direction. You were the dumb, nasty, gold-digging, slut, who tricked Tony Stark and now just wanted him for his money and fame. “It’s weird… I don’t worry about you. I know you. It’s me I don’t trust. I don’t trust that I’m strong enough to be who you need me to be.”

Tony laughed and pressed his lips to your forehead. “I need you to be you.” He said. “Besides, what are you talking about not strong enough? You raised a son alone. Never once letting anyone know who his dad was. You could have just used me for the money, you know? You are the strongest most together person I’ve ever met.”

You both edged a little closer together and Tony placed his hand on your hip. “I just… how do you be a girlfriend?” You asked.

“You seriously didn’t date at all since we hooked up?”

You shook your head. “No. I just…” You sighed. “Getting pregnant to you the way I did was such a monumentally stupid thing I could ever dream of doing. Like even if I hadn’t gotten pregnant. Who doesn’t use a condom when they fuck someone they barely know and have no idea what their sexual history is like? Or actually, worse, I did know. And it wasn’t good, Tony. What if I caught something? Of all the negative outcomes; unplanned pregnancy was one of the best ones.” You shook your head again like you were trying to clear it. “So, I didn’t trust myself after that. I didn’t trust that any judgment I made about another man would be a good one. What if that guy gives me chlamydia? What if that guy cheats on me? What if that one hits me? What if he’s a pedophile just using me to get to Owen? I just decided, for Owen’s sake more than anything, that it was best if I just didn’t.”

“But you trust me?” Tony asked.

You nodded. “I had to let you in. For Owen’s sake. And you’ve proven that you’re trustworthy. Also, I didn’t get chlamydia from you that time, so that’s a bonus.”

Tony burst out laughing and rolled onto his back grabbing his chest. When he finally calmed down he rolled to face you again and wiped his eyes. “That is a bonus.” He said and started laughing again.

When he finally stopped, you quirked your eyebrow at him. “You done?”

“I think so.” He said, giggling. “So, you haven’t had an orgasm since me?”

This time you burst out laughing. “Oh my god, Tony!” You wheezed, shoving him. You clutched at his t-shirt in hysterics. “Okay… okay…” You panted. “A. How presumptuous are you to assume you even gave me an orgasm?”

You rolled out of bed and padded over to your wardrobe. “Oh, I gave you one,” Tony smirked.

“B,” You continued, pulling a cardboard box down from the cupboard, that was the size of a large shoebox. “Even if I couldn’t get myself off using my own hand - which I can - they make these things to help you in that department.” You dumped your collection of sex toys out on the bed. There’s a pink silicone rabbit. A small blue silicone g-spot vibrator with a curved shape. A steel bullet. And a nobbly, rainbow-colored, Pyrex dildo.

Tony looked up at you and raised an eyebrow. He picked up the rabbit and turned it over. “I think this means we’re married now. Got a kid. Haven’t had sex in over ten years. Seen your entire collection of sex toys. That’s being married right?”

“I hope the sex part isn’t true. Fuck. Given how long it’s been for me, I’d be fucking you every chance I got.” You said. You packed the toys away and put the box back where it came from. Before you got back into bed you switched off the light.

This time you lay with your head in the crook of his arm and he wrapped his arms around you. “So then…” He said.

“I think so. I’m so scared. But being scared isn’t enough to not try this. And if I have to watch you date someone else, it’ll kill me.” You admitted. “But I want to do it properly. No skipping ahead because we want to be family. We date. If that works, we move in. Then… I don’t know… Maybe getting married. Maybe just moving in. But those things before the more kids bit. Not just suddenly living together and making more babies.”

“Smart,” Tony said.

You both just lay like that for a while. You draped yourself over Tony and nuzzled at his neck. “You should go. We should talk to Owen first. I don’t want him to just find us in bed together.”

Tony whined. “Really? You’re gonna make me go up to my penthouse?”

“I know, living in a penthouse sounds terrible. Your bed looks so uncomfortable.” You deadpanned.

Tony chuckled. “How about… and just hear me out here… instead… we just make out for a little while?”

You laughed softly and ran your hand over Tony’s cheek. “Yeah, okay.”

You both adjusted so you were lying face to face again. You rest your head on his bicep and start to kiss. Slowly at first. Your lips caressing his. You nipped at his bottom lip and his tongue pushed into your mouth. He still tasted like sugar, frosting, and Scotch and it mixed with the minty toothpaste taste in your mouth.

As you kissed your hands wandered. You slid them up under his t-shirt and ran your fingertips over his abs. They gently rise and fall over his muscles, which ripple under your touch.

One of his hands cupped your breast. He gently ran his thumb over your nipple and it hardened under his attention. He pinched it and you gasped and rolled your hips against him.

Your lips barely parted for more than enough time it took to take a breath. His beard tickled your nose and made your lips tingle. You were starting to feel slightly light-headed when Tony’s hand slipped into your pajama pants.

“Tony,” You gasped. “We aren’t having sex.”

“I know. I know.” He whispered, his hand pressing against your thigh. “I just want to get you off. Can I?”

You nodded and his mouth was on yours again. His fingers slipped between your folds. You squirmed against him as he stroked up and down your labia in broad strokes.

Tony mored his mouth to your ear. “Shh… just relax.” He whispered and softly kissed under your ear at your pulse point.

You willed yourself to relax. You rolled onto your back and spread your legs for him and took deep, steadying breaths. He kissed down your neck and along your jaw. As you started to relax, his fingers began to focus on your clit.

You moaned loudly and your body clenched up. Tony’s lips pressed against yours, smothering the sound. He pinched and rolled his fingers over your clit and you didn’t know if it’s just that he was particularly good at it, or if it was just that it had been so long since someone else had touched you like this, but you began to completely come apart.

You writhed under him, arching off the mattress. Sweat beaded on your body and it felt like your blood had been replaced with magma. It pumped through your veins and pooled in your abdomen. Tony pushed two fingers inside of you and it was like he pushed on a trigger, opening a gate inside of you. You came hard, crying out against his lips.

He slowly stroked you through your orgasm, and when you finally relaxed, your breath slowly came back under control, he took his hand away and grinned at you. “You’re loud.”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” You said and leaned up and pecked his lips.

“Okay, I guess I better go.” He said and peppered your face and neck with little kisses. “I’m a little excited. Are you excited?”

You looked up at him and cupped his jaw. “I am.”

“We’ll tell Owen in the morning?” He asked.

“Sounds like a plan.” You said and kissed him softly. “Night, Tones.”

“Night, honey.” 

It was like he almost skipped out of the room. You snuggled down into you bed feeling really hopeful about the future for the first time in a long time.


	6. Chapter 6

All the first dates you’d had up until now had taken a similar route. You’d spend a few hours alone, getting ready. The guy would show up while you were almost but not quite ready. He’d take you somewhere. Dinner maybe. A club. Often it was to the movies. Then you’d come home. If it went well, there might be making out or even sex. If not, you’d give them the awkward hug and head inside alone.

That was a long time ago. Back then you didn’t have a kid. You were just a single woman with no one relying on you. You went to work, and when there was fun to be had you had it. Things were very different now. Now you had a career. You had a son. Also, your date was starting by getting home late from work to find the man you were seeing, playing ball in the yard with your son. His son.

His jacket was draped over the back of one of your garden chairs and there was some kind of bot involved as the two of them charged around the yard. You weren’t quite sure which of them looked more delighted. When Tony saw you, he smiled.

“You’re late!”

“Work. How’d everything go?”

“Good. I like this whole, ‘picking my kid up from school thing’.” He said and tossed the ball. The droid swooped in and caught it and then flew off.

“Dad!” Owen whined, taking off after it as it zoomed around the fence line.

Tony came over to you and kissed your cheek. “Are you going to get ready?”

You leaned in against him and inhaled. He was sweaty and still running quite warm and he smelled good. Earthy and salty. With the woody and floral undertones of his cologne underlying it. You wrapped your arms around his waist and he kissed you on top of the head as he closed his arms around you. “Did you just sniff me?”

“Mm-hmm.” You hummed. “You smell so good.”

He gave you a squeeze and let you go, smacking your ass. “Go get ready.”

“You go get ready,” You countered.

“I will. I was waiting for you to get back.” He said. “Did you want me to take Owen over to your mom’s place on the way?”

You leaned up and kissed him again. Despite the fact you hadn’t actually been on a date with Tony yet, you had already fallen into a casual familiarity. He didn’t sleep over but when he was around, the two of you touched in that unconscious, incidental way. Bushing your hands over each other as you passed in the hall. Quick stolen kisses in the kitchen while you cooked. Standing together like this, just leaning on him, and if you felt like it, kissing. It had been a long time since you’d had this with anyone. You’re not quite sure if you’d ever really had this with anyone.

Tony never stayed the night but he was around a lot. Your house was mostly unpacked because he’d ended up paying people to come and do it and while they did he spent time with you and Owen. He started picking up Owen every day from school and he’d be here waiting for you. You’d have dinner as a family. He’d help Owen with his homework and then send him off to bed. When you knew he was asleep he’d come to the couch and the two of you would make out. He never pushed you for more. He seemed quite comfortable with taking it slow like you’d asked. Which was odd, because… well, he was Tony Stark.

You weren’t so sure about the whole taking it slow thing anymore. He felt so right. More right than any decision you had made up until this point. He was fun to be around. He was patient and kind with Owen. He was Owen’s dad.

It also didn’t help that he was extremely easy on the eyes. All he had to do was smile at you the right way and your panties would disintegrate.

“If you don’t mind,” you said. “Owen! Come give me a kiss hello and then grab your stuff so your dad can take you to grandma’s!”

Owen ran over and you hugged and kissed him. “How was school?”

“Fine.”

“Nothing to report?”

“Nope. I’ll go get my things.” He said and ran inside.

“Like drawing blood from a stone sometimes, I swear.” You joked. 

Tony chuckled and wrapped you in his arms. Owen had been delighted to find out that you and Tony were seeing each other. He had big plans for a wedding already, despite the fact you and Tony weren’t even sure if either of you were the marrying types. Of the list of things you were worried about regarding ‘dating Tony Stark’ was concerned the biggest wasn’t the celebrity part, it was worrying that you were doing all this for Owen’s sake, and how badly he’d take it if it didn’t work out.

Tony cupped you jaw and leaned in, kissing you slowly. His tongue just barely teased over yours. When he broke the kiss he leaned his forehead on yours and stroked his thumb along your jaw. “Don’t tell anyone, but I might be falling for you.” He whispered.

“Mmm… me too,” you breathed.

“So, tell me,” He whispered, his forehead still pressed against yours. “Are you the kind of woman who puts out on a first date?”

You started giggling and pinched his side. “That’s not very romantic.” You said and headed inside.

He slapped your ass as you turned away from him. “I’m very romantic.”

* * *

After Tony took Owen, you went upstairs to get ready. You dressed in something flirty and colorful and matched your makeup to match it. The pair of shoes you chose fit somewhere on that line between pretty and comfortable.

Tony returned an hour and a half later. Normally he just let himself in but tonight he rang the doorbell. You answered it to find him dressed in a three-piece suit. It was light gray with a purple tie and tailored to fit him exactly. He smiled at you and held up a bouquet of red roses.

“Aww,” You teased as you took them. “You really are a romantic.”

“Told you,” He joked and kissed your cheek.

You took the flowers inside and put them in the only vase you own. It’s a little too small for them but you jammed them in as best you could.

“Looks good,” Tony teased as you put them on the kitchen table.

“Gee thanks,” You said.

He laughed and took your hand. “Come on. We have a date to go on.”

He drove you to a little Italian Restaurant in Brooklyn. You’d never been there before but apparently, he had because he went in through the back entrance through the kitchen and some of the people greeted him by name.

“Mr. Stark, so pleased to see you again!” The chef said. He turned and looked you over appreciatively. “Your date is beautiful.”

Before you can even thank him he calls to a waiter and you’re led to a quiet booth in the back of the restaurant, a bottle of red wine as well as a jug of water and left without either of you ordering a thing.

“So, come here often?” You smirked.

Tony laughed and poured you a glass of the red. “I wouldn’t say a lot. But it is good food and they don’t make a scene of me being here. I tip large. It works for me.”

“That’s good. I gotta say, I’m scared of the being spotted out thing. People are already so mean to me. They all hate me for what I did.” You said frowning.

Tony sighed and took both your hands in his, holding them up to his lips. “They don’t know you. They don’t even know me. They just think they do. They see you as competition in a race they aren’t entered in.”

“That’s not just it though. They hate that I hurt you. And I did. I did hurt you, Tony.” You argued.

He let out a breath. “When I found out about Owen it felt like you ripped my heart out. It hurt. But the truth is, it was more like, you made me aware that I had a heart in the first place.”

You smiled and stroked your thumb along his jaw. “You have a heart?”

He laughed and shook his head. “You’re such a little shit. What do you think this is for?” He said tapping his arc reactor.

“Aesthetics?”

He roared with laughter and kissed your hands. “I love you. Both of you. Don’t read what they say about you, they don’t know shit.”

You took a breath and nodded. “Really?”

“Really.”

You picked up the menu and opened it. “You keep saying you love me.”

Tony laughed. “Thought I might get that one as a freebie.”

“I can pretend it didn’t happen if you want me to.” You said, gazing at him over the top of the menu.

He picked up his menu and shook his head. “No, it’s good you know. I don’t use those words enough, even when I do mean them. I think … They have power. You hand them to the wrong person and they can use them to hurt you. Or at least that’s been my experience.” He said. “You don’t need to… anything really… It’s soon. But I need to grow up. Let people have access to that part of me.”

You put down your menu and pushed his to the table, he tilted his head looking at you and you leaned over the table and kissed him. He smiled into it and caressed your jaw. When you pulled back you picked up the menu and went back to browsing.

“If I knew saying how I felt led to that, I would have done it sooner.” He joked.

“Tony… I -” 

He waved you off. “It’s fine. It’s too soon. I know it is. I just do. So… let’s not make a big deal about it.” He said waving his hands around, indicating his story had reached its conclusion.

The waitress came over and took your order. When she left Tony reached over the table and took our hand.

“Why me, Tony?” You asked, looking up at him. “You’re Tony Stark. You have people fantasizing about you day and night. Thousands of people. You had strings of people who you would bring home. You could have just about anyone. Why me?”

He laughed, but there was no humor to it. “Yeah… anyone. That’s why I’m single in my forties.”

“Sorry,” You said sheepishly.

He shook his head. “It’s fine. I get it.” He let out a breath and his hand went to his glasses before dropping it. “I think it’s me. I’m broken. My dad couldn’t even tell me he loved me. I’m unlovable.”

“Tony, you’re not -”

He held up his hand. “Hey, you asked the question. Let me give you the answer.” He said. “So, I push people away. Even the one time I had … something… it’s not easy being with me. I get caught up with work a lot. I’m never around. There’s the whole Iron Man, Avengers stuff that will keep you awake at night. I think that’s what killed the last one. It’s hard to be sure. Then there’s the rumor mill. I’m dating Nat. I’m dating Cap. I’m on drugs. I’m bringing home sex workers. I have all the STDs. It’s a lot. I’m a lot.” He slid around the booth and put his arm around your shoulders. “Can I ask you something? When was the last time you did something - made a decision relating to your life - where you didn’t think about how it would affect someone else? Where you just went; I want to do that for me?”

You sighed and leaned into him. “It was that night, Tony. I haven’t done anything that I haven’t thought about how it might at least affect Owen since I got high and had sex with you.”

“Even now… when you question how the public sees you, are you worried about you being hurt by that or me?” He asked.

“I’m worried about you. You’re the one that has to field questions from the press.” You answered. “You’re the one with the fans.”

His hand went to your jaw and he stroked his thumb over your cheek. “You are so selfless. You never take shit from anyone, but somehow you just keep giving and giving of yourself. Maybe it’s time to do something you want to do.”

You leaned in and kissed him, wrapping his arms around your neck and relaxing into it. You ran your tongue over the corner of his lips and he brought his tongue to meet yours, circling them together.

That’s how you stayed until the waitress brought you your food. After dinner, you and Tony when to see a movie. It was an exclusive little cinema, with only ten sets of paired off electric recliners and waitstaff to bring you drinks and food throughout the film. You ordered a ‘death by chocolate’ dessert plate to share along with a cosmo for you and a single malt scotch for him. About halfway through, you moved from your recliner to his, squeezing in beside him and resting your head on his chest. He trailed his fingers up and down your side.

When he took you home he walked you to your door and you pulled your keys out to let yourself in.

“What, no goodbye kiss?” He asked as he watched you fumble with the lock.

“Wouldn’t that happen tomorrow?” You smirked.

His face lit up and he spun you into his arms. “On the first date? Man, you do put out easy.”

“I thought that was a well-established fact,” you teased. “But by all means, you’re free to say no.”

He chuckled and you started walking backward, leading Tony into your house. He kicked the door closed behind him and lifted you. You wrapped your legs around him and you frantically kissed as he carried you to your bedroom. He bumped into a small set of shelves and a decorative table as he moved down the hall.

When he got to the bedroom he pushed you against the wall and slowly let you slip to the floor as you kissed frantically. You bit his bottom lip and he growled deep in the back of his throat.

His hand slid over your jaw and down your neck. The way they felt against you made your skin feel warm and yet you broke out in goosebumps in the wake of his fingers. They moved down your back and unzipped your dress. He pulled back from you, breaking the kiss. You looked up at him and let out a shuddering breath. His eyes were clouded with lust and his lips were slightly pink and swollen. He ran his tongue over his top lip and slowly slid his hands down your arms, pushing the straps of your dress down before them.

Despite how hot you feel a shiver ran through you as your dress slipped to the ground and pooled around your feet.

“Tony…” You breathed, reaching up and beginning to unbutton his shirt.

“Mmm?” He hummed as his fingertips trailed over the line between the lace of your bra and your skin.

“I feel like an idiot. Because I love you too. Did I waste 10 years? Could we have been a family back then?”

He nuzzled against your cheek, his beard scratching your skin. “No,” he whispered. “You were right. The man I was then. He’s not who I am now.”

“You reached the bottom of the buttons of pushed his shirt off. It fell near your dress and you start to kiss down his chest as you unfasten his belt. You kiss near the arc reactor, your lips grazing over the scarring. He hadn’t had the arc when you last saw him, and you could feel the way his ribs had been carved away to house it.

He groaned and his head fall back as your mouth moved along his ribcage and you flicked your tongue over his nipple. When you worked his belt off he lifted you for a second spinning you around and putting you back on the ground. You backed slowly towards the bed, both of you shedding clothes as with each step. Your shoes. Your bra. His pants and socks. Finally, you both dropped your underwear and he lifted you and sat you on the end of the bed.

You looked up at him as he stood in front of you, his cock rock hard before him. You took it in your hand and pumped it a couple of times before leaning forward and running your tongue up its length. He moaned and you swirled your tongue over the head as you gazed up at him.

A smile played over your lips and you started to suck. Just the head first, using a lot of suction and hollowing your cheeks before lapping your tongue over it. Tony let out a hiss and his hands bunched in your hair. You took him deep in the back of your throat and curled your tongue around his shaft.

Tony’s hips moved a little, just a gentle roll that never pushed him further than you could take. You squeezed his ass cheeks and teased your fingers over his asshole. He groaned loudly and his head fell back.

You found yourself really enjoying yourself. The way his cock felt in your mouth. The taste of his precome as it dripped on your tongue. The soft groans and whimpers he made.

Your impatience to have him inside of you overwrote how much you were enjoying sucking his dick. It had been so long since you’d had sex, you wanted him, needed him desperately. You let him go and he immediately dropped to his knees and pulled you to the edge of the bed. He put your knees over your shoulders and began to kiss the inside of your thighs. He was gentle at first but was soon sucking hard enough to leave a trail of bruises to your pussy.

He placed a large open-mouthed kiss on your cunt. He sucked on your folds and slowly pulled back making you gasp and arch up off the mattress. He smirked at you and flattened his tongue, licking up your folds and teasing it over your clit.

Your whole body buzzed like a live wire and you squirmed under him. “Tony, please,” You pleaded. “I need you.”

Tony chuckled and focused his tongue on your clit. He flicked his tongue over it before sucking it into his mouth. You keened and arched up again. He plunged two of his fingers into our cunt and you squeezed around them in shock.

He hummed against your clit as you twisted under him. He held you down, pushing down on your hip to keep you in place as his fingers touched down on your g-spot. You cried out and bucked up against him, clutching at your sheets. He focused on that spot, pressing and dragging his fingers over it again and again as he sucked on your clit.

You started panting and chanting the word ‘fuck’ under your breath. Tony held you in place as he dragged your orgasm out of you. You could feel the pressure of it running through you. When it broke your whole body spasmed with it.

Tony stroked you through your orgasm. When he got up off the floor he smiled down at you with glistening lips. He collected his pants up off the floor and you sat up and watched as he pulled his wallet out and took out a condom.

“Good thinking.” You teased.

He laughed and climbed into bed, sitting up against the headboard. “I do like to learn from my mistakes.” He said as he rolled the condom on and offered you his hand. “Though the more time passes, the more I realize that might have been the best mistake I’ve ever made.”

You let him guide you over his lap and he pulled his legs up behind you. You sunk down in his lap, guiding his cock inside of you. “You old softie,” You hummed as his cock stretched and filled you.

You started to rock against him. He wrapped his arms around you and held one hand on your neck and the other at the small of your back. You started kissing him, tasting yourself on his lips. You tried to go slow, making this about that first-time connection between two people. The concept went right out the window almost immediately. You became frantic, kissing each other desperately. Pulling hair. Bouncing hard on his lap.

You came again and your legs shaking with it. He pushed you back, putting your feet up on his shoulders as your orgasm still quakes through you. He started fucking hard into you. You stretched your arms up over your head and clutch at the sheets as your back curves away from the mattress. “Fuck! Yes! Fuck me hard!” You cried.

He pounded into you. His eyes locked with yours as he held your hips with one hand, digging his fingers into your flesh. His other hand he used to rub your clit hard and fast. Another orgasm took hold of you and as you came, Tony did too. He grunted as he spilled inside you.

You let your legs slip down and he leaned over and kissed you. “I love you,” he breathed.

“I love you too, Tony.” You replied, pulling him down against you and kissing him hard.

He slipped from within you and you both got up to clean up a little and get ready for bed. When you were back under the covers he wrapped you in his arms. “Do you think I could start sleeping over more regularly? I kind of want to do the morning rush?”

You sighed happily. The thought of you actually getting to be a family made you feel warm inside. “Yeah. I’d like that.”


	7. Chapter 7

Tony browsed the selection of necklaces and pendants at Bvlgari. Jewelry was a little cliché he knew and normally he’d just pay someone to figure this out with him. But Owen had wanted to go and choose something for you for your birthday and Tony really just loved it when he was asked to help his son.

“Dad, do you like this one? I think mom would like it. It’s not too over the top.”

Tony smiled and strolled over to the little display case of engagement rings. Even though he had basically been living with you for the last eight months, and he’d had Owen in his life for over a year and a half, he still loved every time he had to be the dad. “Those are engagement rings. You’re not proposing to your mom.”

“I didn’t mean from me. I meant from you.” Owen said and nudged him.

“Woah, what?” Tony said. His heart started hammering in his chest and he tapped his fingers on his right arm as panic started to rise up in him. “Did your mom say something to you about wanting to get married?”

“No,” Owen answered. “But… I don’t know. She never got anything normal or … I dunno… like in a storybook. It’s just been me and her and now you’re here and I think she’ll be okay with whatever happens, but she’s always just okay with things. She never gets to be the special one.” He frowned and shrugged. “If you don’t wanna marry her that’s okay I guess. I just thought … you seem happy together. It would be cool if you got married.”

“Things aren’t always that simple, O.” He said, peering into the glass display case. “I’m bad at this kind of thing. I don’t think the normal way works for me.”

“It wouldn’t be the normal way,” Owen said.

Tony didn’t say anything for a moment before he laughed and shook his head. “Guess you’re right.”

“You don’t have to. I just thought…” He shrugged and began looking at the bracelets.

Tony looked down the engagement rings, all sparkling up at him in their white gold and diamond. There had to be worse reasons to ask someone to marry him than because his son told him to, but he was blanking to find one of them. Besides he had never really pictured himself as a husband. Live-in lover, sure. But actual on paper husband? That was just asking for trouble.

He’d never seen himself as a father either, though. And yet here he was and being Owen’s dad was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He loved you. He knew that. If he was going to marry anyone it would be you. And Owen was right, you never got to be the special one. A wedding could be your chance to be the center of attention. It would show you that he was serious about you and the fact he did see this as a family.

“You’d be okay with that? If I asked her?” Tony asked.

Owen’s face lit up. “Really? Yes! Oh, my god.” He rushed over and slammed into Tony’s side.

“Woah, there, killer,” Tony said wrapping his arms around him.

“What kind of ring are you going to get? I don’t think mom would want something too crazy. But it should be nice.” Owen babbled. “How will you ask? You gotta do it just right.”

“Hey, hey, calm down.” Tony laughed. “First of all, if you’re going to get an engagement ring, the trick is to start with the perfect diamond and build the band around it. As for the how; maybe you can help me with that.”

* * *

You sank down into the whirlpool bath, in the marble bathroom of your suite with a sigh. Tony had gone all out for your birthday. Flying you in his private jet to Paris. Booking a penthouse suite in a hotel in the middle of the city with its own private terrace that wrapped right around the suite so you had 360-degree views of the whole city.

It had four bedrooms and Owen was currently crashed out in one of them while you unwound from the extremely long day you’d spent jetlagged in the city.

You had been on your feet all day doing extremely touristy things. You didn’t care one bit. You went to the Louvre and ate bread and cheese with coffee at cafés, and wandered the shops telling Tony that, no, he did not actually have to buy you every single thing you admired.

It had ended with dinner at Le Jules Verne, located in the Eiffel Tower. It was so cliché, but there was no way you could ever have done anything like that if it wasn’t for Tony, so you just let yourself enjoy every cheesy moment. Also, the 7-course tasting menu that started with a crab dish and ended on two different desserts was nothing to turn your nose up to.

Though, if you were really honest with yourself, probably the highlight was just getting to hear Tony speak French with everyone. Who would have thought he’d bring out a language kink?

Now, you were just trying to relax and soothe your aching muscles.

After a little while of you enjoying the jets Tony joined you in the bathroom. “That looks pretty good.” He said as he stripped off his clothes.

“It’s very nice.” You teased and blocked his entry with your leg. “Too bad you’re not invited.”

Tony made an exaggerated sigh and clutched at his chest. “You wound me. I guess no foot rub for you.”

You laughed and moved your leg, letting him in. “If a foot rub is up for offer.”

Tony sank into the water with a sigh. He took a moment to just enjoy the jets, before lifting your leg up into his lap and massaging the arches of your feet. You moaned and let your head fall back on the edge of the tub.

“Did today wear you out too much?” He asked.

“Mmm, maybe just a little. There was a lot of walking and the jetlag.” You said. “You know you don’t have to do this kind of thing for me, right? I mean, I know it’s not that big of a deal for you, but I’m fine with just pizza at home.”

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you’d heard Owen. Dad, you gotta make it big. She never does stuff just for her. She’s always wanted to go to France. Come on, dad. Dad!” Tony teased.

“What? You mean this wasn’t even your idea?” You said, faking outrage.

“Nope. If it was up to me, we’d be at home watching old movies, eating take-out, and -” He pulled you into his lap and wrapped his arms around your waist. “- I’d be letting you have your way with me.”

You yelped and wrapped your legs around his waist. “Who says I’d be wanting to have any way with you?”

He nudged your chin up with his nose and started kissing your throat. You wrapped your arms around his neck and rolled your hips against him. “Hmm…” He hummed against your skin. “Who are you kidding? You’d have me every single way you could.”

His lips teased over yours and you leaned in, flicking your tongue over the corner of his mouth before bringing your lips to his. You kissed deeply and passionately as you rolled your hips against him, his cock hardening against your pussy.

You pulled back and looked down at him. “I’m not fucking you in the bath.”

He smirked. “Guess the bath is done then.” He said and stood, holding you wrapped around him. You squealed as he stepped out of the tub and set you on your feet.

“Damn it. I was enjoying that bath.” You said as he let the water out. You grabbed a towel and wrapped it around yourself.

“I’ll make it up to you,” Tony said as he grabbed his own towel and wrapped it low around his lips. He picked you up again and carried you to the opulent king-sized bed and tossed you onto it. You bounced on the mattress and scrambled back up the bed.

He stalked over the mattress toward you like a lion about to go in for the kill. “No, Tony!” You squealed, backing away from him giggling.

“Yes, Tony.” He smirked, grabbing your ankle and pulling you back.

He started to kiss his way up the inside of your leg and you shook your head. “Nu-uh.”

Tony’s eyes fluttered as he slowly pressed software kisses into the inside of your calf. “Yes, Tony?”

You started giggling again and shook your head.

“Yes, Tony?” He teased, moving up higher on your leg and sucking on the inside of your thigh.

You shook your head again, biting your bottom lip.

Tony sighed dramatically and dropped your leg. “Oh well, too bad I guess.”

You pounced on him, pushing him back on the bed and kissing him hard. He wraps his arms around you and bunched his hands in your hair. You sucked on his bottom lip and he ground his cock up against you. You straddled his lap, pressing his cock against your pussy and rocking against it.

He propped himself up and started sucking on your breasts.

“Say something in French,” You groaned as you rocked against his cock.

“J'ai envie de toi.” He groaned and sucked on one nipple and sucking it into a hardened peak. “Tu me fais bander.” He growled before moving to the next nipple.

You moaned loudly and let your head fall back, giving him full access to you.

He grabbed your hips and suddenly thrust up into you. You gasped and dug your fingers into his back. “Yes, Tony!” You moaned.

He chuckled. “See. Yes, Tony.” He teased and started thrusting up into you.

You moved together. You rocking in his lap while he thrust hard up into you. Tony couldn’t stop kissing you. His lips never left your skin as he moved them from your lips to your neck, down along your collarbone and to your breasts. Your body buzzed and warmth spread through you. More than that, you felt connected. Loved even. This wasn’t just recreational fucking that you and Tony usually do. It was lovemaking.

“J'adore être à l'intérieur de toi.” He whispered against your ear as his fingers go to your clit and he circles over it.

You started to pant. “Oh, fuck. Fuck, Tony.” You babbled as you felt your climax bearing down on you. “I’m gonna come!”

“That’s it, honey. Come for me. You know I love it.” He purred as he held you tightly against him.

You let go. Your orgasm consuming you. You clung to him through it, biting into his shoulder. The way your pussy pulsed and clenched around him, milked his cock as he came deep inside you.

You both collapsed down on the bed and Tony curled himself up against you and nuzzled into your neck. “Happy birthday, honey.”

You hummed and pecked his lips. “Thank you, Tony. It’s been really special.”

“You are special.” He said, softly. “I know we didn’t really have a conventional start, but I really love you. I feel like with you I’m the person I’m supposed to be.”

You ran your fingers through his hair, a soft smile playing on your lips. “You’re a good man, Tony Stark. I’m really glad you came back into my life.”

* * *

The following day Tony slipped out of bed early to make you breakfast. There was a private chef provided with the room, but Tony wanted to do this himself. While he was burning the omelet Owen came in.

“Dad! You can’t give her that!” He said, coming over and looking in the pan.

“I know! I know! What is wrong with me? I can actually cook you know?” Tony said, tipping the whole thing into the trash.

“Just… order something up. Mom likes how it’s just bread and fruit here anyway.” Owen said.

“Right. You’re right.” Tony said. “Smart.”

He put in an order for baguettes with jam, honey, and butter, cafe o’ lait, fresh fruit and mimosas sent up.

They set it up on the terrace overlooking the Eiffel tower.

“You got the ring?” Owen asked.

“Yeah. Yep.” Tony said, patting his jacket pocket. “I think I’m ready.”

“I’ll go wake her up,” Owen said.

He ran inside and Tony paced the terrace. You came out looking bleary-eyed and a little disoriented.

“There’s my beautiful girlfriend.” Tony teased as you took a seat and went straight for the coffee.

“Hush you.” You grumbled.

Tony laughed as he sat down opposite you, taking a drink from his mimosa.

“Can you believe we’re in France, mom?” Owen asked, as he almost bounced in his seat.

“I can not. I don’t think I’ll even believe it once we go home again.” You said. “Are you going to eat, bud?”

“Yeah, yeah.” He said grabbing some of the bread and tearing it open. “Hey, mom, what’s that building?” He asked pointing behind you.

“You’re kinda asking the wrong person.” You said turning in your seat. “Uhh, I think it might be the Musée d’Orsay.” You said. “Tony?”

Tony took the queue kneeling in front of you and taking your hand. You turned back to him and a look of confusion on your face. His heart was hammering and it felt like time had stopped. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring box, flicking it open to show you the round cut diamond ring set in platinum with two brilliant-cut side diamonds.

Owen started bouncing in his seat, practically buzzing with excitement and when Tony said your name you started to blink like you were about to cry.

“Honey,” Tony said gently, stroking his thumb over the back of your hand “We have the most backward relationship ever. But I don’t regret anything. You are so … amazing. I love you and I want our family to be a family. Will you marry me?”

You opened your mouth like you were going to say something but all that came out was a squeak. When your words fail you, you started nodding frantically.

Owen jumped up and pumped his fist in the air. “Yes!” He cheered.

Tony slid the ring on your finger and stood up, pulling you into a deep kiss, his heart finally steadying its pace.


	8. Chapter 8

Tony straightened his tie as he looked in the mirror. His heart was racing even more than usual. There had been several occasions already today that he had been fairly certain he was going to go into full-blown cardiac arrest.

Today was the day. After months and months of planning, people losing their absolute fucking minds on the internet and not in the good way, booking venues and musicians and celebrants, ordering cakes, meeting with designers and planners, the paparazzi literally stalking the two of you at every turn, a bachelor party in Vegas that lasted a week, three days if which were still unaccounted for, he was marrying you.

The pale gray Armani suit was tailored to fit him exactly. It was two pieces and hugged his body without pulling tight anywhere. You’d left the color and style up to him, saying his designers new more than you did. There was one notable exception though. The magenta tie he wore that matched the orchid he wore in his lapel. Those were all you.

Your relationship hadn’t been the standard; meet the woman, start dating, fall in love, get married, have kids thing that society had decided was the order you do things in. Tony didn’t care. He didn’t really consider himself a standard guy. Besides he has never expected to do any of those things anyway. If the universe had decided to send him the kid before the falling in love and finish up with the wedding, he could roll with that. It felt good to have it.

It had taken a lot of juggling and healing, but Tony was now comfortably a dad. Not only that, he was in love. That part he hadn’t expected at all. But here he was, about to stand under an arch of twinkling lights and flowers while he waited to see you walk down the aisle in your wedding dress. He was excited and terrified all at once.

“Dad, can you help me with this?”

Owen’s voice snapped him out of his daydream and he turned to look at his son. Owen was thirteen now. He’d had to teach him how to shave. Owen had laughed the whole time and asked him if he was sure he didn’t need a ruler if he wanted the same effect as Tony. He was prone to random bouts of sullenness and had an acid tongue, but all in all, he was a good kid. Tony was really proud of him. He still had moments that he’d wished he’d been there from the start, but there was still plenty of life experiences they would get to share.

Owen was fumbling with his tie. Tony stepped over to him and helped him fix the double Windsor knot that Owen was struggling with. He was wearing a two-piece in white but the tie was the same magenta as Tony’s. He was a skinny kid, but tall. He could already look Tony directly in the eye. “You look good, bud. How do I look?”

Owen smiled. “Yeah, dad. Mom’s going to love it.”

There was a knock at the door and Rhodey entered. “You two ready? The way you’re going she’s going to be out there before we are.”

Tony ran his hands along the shoulders of Owen’s jacket. “Yeah, I think so. Let’s do this.”

* * *

You stood, taking a few deep breaths as your bridesmaids and your stylist fussed around you. Your dress was a simple a-line with capped sleeves, in white lace and tulle. The skirt almost floated around you, and you knew it didn’t matter how much they tugged or pulled at it, it was going to fall exactly as you wanted it to.

Your stylist fixed the flowers into your hair. You weren’t sure if you were ever going to get used to having a stylist even though you had used one for every red carpet and other official event Tony had dragged you along too.

She adjusts your breasts again, adding a little more tape. “You are completely spilling out of this dress.” She said.

You laughed. “Yeah. This low cut might have been a mistake in hindsight.” You agreed.

She laughed too and stood back, looking you over. “I’ll give your bridesmaids some tape just in case, but I’ll be around too.”

You smiled and thanked her before looking over at your dad. “How do I look?”

He returned the smile with such love it made your heart swell. “You look beautiful, darling. How do you feel?”

“A little queasy.” You said.

“That’s to be expected.” Your mother said. “You ready?”

You took your bouquet of white lilies and magenta orchids, nodded and your father offered you his elbow. He led you outside and down the boardwalk towards the beach. You were on a private island in the Bahamas that Tony had booked out completely. There was no risk of paparazzi, so you strolled, arm-in-arm with your dad, just worrying about the beating of your heart.

“I’m so proud of you, you know?” Your dad said, patting your hand. “It would have been so easy for you to try and trap that boy into this. But instead, you decided to take the hard road because you thought it would protect Owen. I know because you’re now getting married that you think you made the wrong choice, but you did it for the right reasons. And you’ve done an amazing job raising him alone.”

Your tears threaten to break and you run your fingertips under your eyelashes to brush them away. “Thank you, dad.” You whispered.

He gave your hand a squeeze and kissed your cheek. The chairs set up on the sand come into view and all eyes turn to you. The guests are full of family and friends and some of Tony’s work acquaintances. A quartet of guitars start playing ‘Fluff’ by Black Sabbath and you started walking down the petal-strewn aisle formed between the rows of chairs on the sand.

Tony’s face lit up when he saw you, such a look of pure love etched on his features makes your heart swell. Beside him stood Owen who had the biggest smile on his face. Rhodey flanked Owen’s other side, smiling as you approached. By the time you made it to the wedding arch Tony’s eyes are glistening and you couldn’t help but lean in and kiss him right away.

The celebrant cleared his throat and began.

“Welcome, family, friends and loved ones. We gather to this beautiful spot today to celebrate the wedding of these two people. You have all traveled a long way to share this formal commitment they make to one another after a long history between them, and to offer your love and support of the union. They wanted to share this day with those of you who are nearest and dearest to them. 

“Marriage is perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure of human relationships. No ceremony can create your marriage; only you can do that through love and patience; through dedication and perseverance; through talking and listening, helping and supporting and believing in each other; through tenderness and laughter; through learning to forgive, learning to appreciate your differences, and by learning to make the important things matter, and to let go of the rest. What this ceremony can do is to witness and affirm the choice you make to stand together as lifemates and partners.”

Owen took center stage to do a reading next and he stood between the two of you nervously. Tony put his hand on Owen’s shoulder to reassure him, while you took his free hand.

_“‘What is REAL?’ asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender before Nana came to tidy the room. ‘Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?’_

_‘Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When someone loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’_

_‘Does it hurt?’ asked the Rabbit._

_‘Sometimes,’ said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. ‘When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.’_

_‘Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,’ he asked, ‘or bit by bit?’_

_‘ It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.’_

_‘I suppose you are real?’ said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse only smiled._

_‘Someone made me Real,’ he said. ‘That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.’” Owen read._

Owen moved back to his spot and the celebrant spoke again.

“We’ve come to the point of the ceremony where you’re going to say your vows to one another. But first, to do that, I ask you to remember that love - that is rooted in trust and acceptance - will be the foundation of an abiding and deepening relationship. No other ties are more tender. You do not take the vows today out of any religious or civic law, but out of a desire to love and be loved by another person fully, without limitation, then your life will have joy and the home you establish will be a place in which you will both find the direction of your growth, your freedom, and your responsibility.”

Tony took a deep breath and squeezed your hands. “I take you to be my wife, my constant friend and partner, and my love.

“I vow to honor and you and respect you for all that you are and will become, taking pride in who we are, both separately and together.

“I promise that I am going to challenge you every day. But that, I will also accept challenges from you.

“Our home will be a sanctuary and a respite for us and the people we love most.

“Above all, I give you my love freely and unconditionally. I pledge this to you, from the bottom of my heart, for all the days of our lives.” He said, his eyes glistening.

You smiled and swallowed lifting his hands to your mouth and kissing the back of them. “I take you to be my husband, my constant friend, and partner and my love.

“I will work to create a bond of honesty, respect and trust; one that withstands the tides of time and change, and grows along with us.

“I will join you and our community in an ongoing struggle to create a world we all want to live in, where love and friendship will be recognized and celebrated in their many forms.

“Above all, I will give you my love freely and unconditionally. I pledge this to you, from the bottom of my heart, for all the days of our lives.” You said.

“May I have the rings please?” The celebrant asked.

Owen fumbled to get them out of his pocket and his hand shook a little as he handed them over to each of you.

“Repeat after me: I give you this ring, as a daily reminder of my love for you.”

You and Tony both repeated the words as you slid the rings into place.

“By the power of your love and commitment, and the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss each other!”

Tony wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you close, dipping you kissed deeply and everyone applauded.

After you did the legal paperwork and took photos you joined the rest of the guests at tables set up under lights a little further down the beach. Everything felt like a whirlwind. Dinner was served. The starters were set up on a grazing table. There were dips, crackers, and artisan bread, several kinds of cheese, olives, chargrilled vegetables, and sliced deli meats. As well as oysters, shrimp, arancini, pork belly, rice paper rolls, and other small finger foods to get everyone started. That was followed by a seated entree of either rack of lamb, herb potato gnocchi, ragu of chorizo, chickpeas, onion and capsicum and chimichurri, fillet of salmon, saffron potato, quinoa, barley, and white crab and avocado mousse, or pistachio-crusted tofu with a prickly pear sauce. All these dishes that you had spent so long carefully choosing to make sure everyone had something delicious they could eat you could barely even manage to taste because everyone wanted to talk to you, or see your ring or take your photo. Not to mention that queasy feeling never quite let up.

After dinner speeches were made, first your dad telling stories of you and Tony as kids and repeating how proud he is of you. Then your bridesmaid talking about the fate that led the two of you to be together now.

Then Owen got up. “He-hello.” He said, the nerves showing in the shake of his voice. “My name is Owen. I grew up with just my mom. She’s a really good mom, but I did always have a hope that one day I’d get to meet my dad. One day, by complete accident, I did. I didn’t expect he’d be Iron Man though. He started out by being a really good dad. Then he was a really good boyfriend to my mom. She is much happier and more chill with him around. So I’m sure he’ll be a really good husband too. I love you both so much. So cheers to my mom and dad.”

Everyone applauded and glasses were raised. Owen returned to his seat and you hugged him tightly and kissed the top of his head while Tony wrapped his arms around the both of you.

Rhodey got up to speak next and he smirked at Tony. “Well, I bet none of you expected this to happen right?” He said, making everyone laugh. “I know I didn’t. I met Tony back in college. He was only 15 then, and already completely out of control. I remember thinking there was no way this kid was making it to thirty. The longer I knew him the more sure I was that would be the case. But he did. I also assumed he’d just continue being a playboy until he died. My very own Hugh Hefner. He’s been through a lot of changes though. He’s nearly died more times than I’d like to admit. He started to settle. To figure out who he is and what he wants with his life.

“I never really believed in fate, but there seemed to be something going on with the way these two people had their lives come together. If they hadn’t known each other as kids, they might not have had the little tryst that brought Owen here into the world. But the tryst had to happen while Tony was still his unsettled self. Owen had to be kept a secret though or they definitely wouldn’t have had a great relationship. They met back up at the time Tony had begun to settle which was the perfect time. He was able to step up to be the dad he needed to be. He was able to open his heart up to be the partner he needed to be.

“And now, here we are. At Tony Stark’s wedding. Not drunk at Vegas but planned ahead to this woman who he loves and who kept coming into his life at the perfect times. They were destined to be.” Rhodey turned and looked directly at you. “He is better with you. Happier. More at peace. All the things you might have put down as mistakes or chance, they were meant to happen. I’m glad he has you.” He turned back to the crowd. “So raise a glass to the happy couple.”

There was a cheer of the ‘happy couple and everyone sipped their drinks. Tony got up and hugged Rhodey before taking the microphone for himself.

“First of all, I’d like to thank you all for traveling this far to be with us. I mean, I know I paid, so free private island holiday, but still, it really means the world to both of us.” He said, making your guests laugh. “I grew up not really knowing what it felt like to be part of a loving family. So instead I modeled myself after my father. I drank too hard and I worked too hard. But I told myself that I wouldn’t inflict myself on anyone else for too long because that wouldn’t be fair to anyone.

“It’s funny how life doesn’t really give a shit about your plans. Turns out while I was trying to stop myself from ever forming any bonds with anyone I was making a pretty serious bond with someone. So instead of doing things in the typical everyday order where you meet, fall in love, get married, have a kid. Or doing things the way I envisioned, just a new conquest every day. I did them in the way that worked for me. I had the kid. I fell in love. And now, I am married to the women I have a son with. I finally have the family I didn’t think existed for me. It’s funny how you can not know how badly you needed something until you finally have it.”

He looked at you, his eyes full of love. “People always ask me if I was mad when I found out she’d hidden Owen from me. The answer is; of course, I was. Who wouldn’t be? The next question I usually get is how could I forgive that? That question is easily answered if you’ve ever met her. She is the most kind, brave, intelligent, amazing person I’ve ever met, and I’ve met a lot of kind, brave, intelligent and amazing people. A lot of you are here today. Falling in love with her was inevitable. It was like breathing. I am excited to call myself her husband. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her. So I’d like you all to raise your glasses for the crazy way life works and to my wife.”

He sat down as everyone toasted and you leaned in and kissed him deeply. Though your moment didn’t last long. You were called onto the floor for your first dance. The band started to play ‘Nothing Else Matters’ by Metallica and you and Tony start to move around the dance floor in the routine you’d been practicing for months now.

“You look beautiful, you know?” Tony said, gazing into your eyes.

“Thank you,” You said leaning in and brushing your lips over his just briefly. “Would you say I’m glowing?”

Tony opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again. You could actually see the wheels turning behind his eyes. “Are you…?”

You smirked at him and he spun you. “Pregnant?” You finished as you span back into his arms. “That’s right.”

“Honey…” He said, a smile spreading over his face. “Oh my god.” He pulled you into a hard kiss, the music completely forgotten. You both just stand there kissing. His hand on your cheek, yours clinging to his back. The beach might as well be empty except for the two of you. His lips slowly caress yours until they begin to go numb. When he pulls back his eyes are glistening with tears.

You reach up and brush one escapee from his cheek. “You’re such a softie, Stark.”

“Don’t make fun of me. I’m really happy.” He said as you start to dance again.

You nuzzled into his neck. “You think we’ll ever get pregnant because we planned to?”

Tony started laughing. “Who knows. Like I said, life doesn’t care about plans. But whatever happens, I’m loving every minute of it.”

## ~ _END_ ~


End file.
